A portion of the Savannah River Site’s security personnel with union representation are on the job this week even as nearly 300 of their colleagues remain on strike in the wake of failed labor negotiations.
Of the 337 security employees represented by the United Professional Pro-Force of Savannah River (PPSR), 48 are currently working. That encompasses workers who never went on strike and those who have subsequently returned to work, though a breakdown between the two groups was not immediately available. That left 289 workers striking as of Wednesday.
Rob Davis, spokesman for security contractor Centerra-SRS, said employees still striking are not locked out. “There is a defined process for returning, and any employee who wishes to return to work needs to contact his or her Captain, Major or Chief, who will provide instructions,” he said by email Wednesday.
UPPSR, which represents nearly half of the 688 employees in the Centerra-SRS workforce, spent much of this year negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the company. On July 19, Centerra submitted a “last, best and final offer,” but the union rejected the deal and began its strike on Aug. 15.
Two weeks in, Davis said the two sides have not yet resumed formal talks. “The Company and union negotiated for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement for 18 weeks, and the proposed CBA was our last, best and final offer. We have had no meetings with union officials and none are currently planned,” he said.
Multiple attempts to reach UPPSR were unsuccessful.
When the strike began, union President Mathias Miller said one central problem with the contract proposal was an increase in insurance premiums workers aren’t willing to pay. To that point, Davis said insurance premiums fluctuate based on medical claims that are filed: “Current trends lead us to estimate a 10% to 13% increase in premiums for the next enrollment period.”
The other main obstacle was language in the contract Miller said would give Centerra-SRS a license to change parts of the agreement at its discretion. “If we sign, we would basically have no contract,” he said earlier this month. “They would be able to move things around however they wanted to. And even after negotiations, they would have the final word.”
Centerra is incurring certain costs due to the labor action, such as expenditures for implementing the strike contingency plan, which includes bringing in staff from other DOE sites. However, some of those costs are offset by not paying salaries for striking employees. “It should be noted that these costs are a result of the union members rejecting a very lucrative proposal,” said Davis, who could not provide a specific cost amount.
Centerra-SRS provides security support services for the 310-square-mile site near Aiken, S.C., which encompasses both active operations for the U.S. nuclear deterrent and nuclear cleanup activities. Those security services include access control, property protection, law enforcement, criminal investigations, and traffic control.
The company’s 10-year, $1 billion contract expires on Oct. 7, 2019. Last month, the Energy Department issued a request for information (RFI) for parties interested in taking on the new contract.
About four dozen people representing a host of security companies and Energy Department contractors attended the Aug. 14 industry day for the new contract. Among the companies represented were Centerra, BWX Technologies, Wastren Advantage, the Government Training Institute, Paragon Systems, Professional Project Services, E2 Consulting, and Redcon Solutions Group, according to the sign-in sheet posted online last week.
