United Steelworkers Local 1-689 members are still doing nuclear remediation at the Department of Energy Portsmouth Site in Ohio more than a month after their labor deal with Fluor BWXT Portsmouth expired, their union representative said this week.
Negotiations have not gone well so far, United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1-689 President Herman Potter said during a brief Tuesday phone conversation with Exchange Monitor. The union’s most recent two-year extension to the contract ended March 29.
“We need some changes to the contract,” Potter said. The ongoing talks will probably produce a one-year extension, he added.
In talks with another contractor, Local 1-689 pushed for reinstatement of workers dismissed for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 during the pandemic. When asked, Potter said COVID reinstatement falls outside the scope of the Fluor-BWXT talks.
“We are planning to take the COVID terminations to arbitration in August,” Potter said. “We can’t get a resolution otherwise.”
With the labor agreement still in flux, DOE and bidders on a new Portsmouth Site cleanup contract recently agreed offers on a new follow-on contract will remain viable through June 1.
The union supports a smooth transition to the next contractor and a training center for new hires, Potter said, adding about 30% of the USW workforce for Fluor BWXT are age 60 or older.
Fluor BWXT Portsmouth employs about 1,900 union and salaried staff at the Portsmouth Site, according to its website. Roughly 1,050 of those are members of the USW local, Potter said.
Fluor BWXT Portsmouth did not return an email seeking comment on the Portsmouth labor situation by deadline.
