March 17, 2014

Y-12, LABOR UNION STRIKE DEAL ON 14-MONTH EXTENSION

By ExchangeMonitor

With the contractor transition at Y-12 still on hold because of protests, the Atomic Trades and Labor Council has negotiated a year’s extension to the bargaining agreement covering 1,200 hourly workers at the Oak Ridge plant. The new agreement includes a 2 ½ percent wage increase for Y-12 workers, who are expected to ratify the contract extension Friday. ATLC President Steve Jones confirmed the tentative agreement, and Steven Wyatt, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, acknowledged that the NNSA gave B&W Y-12 the authority to negotiate a new agreement because of the timing issues regarding the contractor transition. “Our goal is to ensure the stability of the Y-12 workforce during an upcoming transition to a new contractor,” Wyatt said in an email response to questions.

The current ATLC contract at Y-12 was due to expire June 22, so even if the new combined contractor for Y-12 and Pantex—Bechtel-led Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC—took over later this month, it still would leave little time for labor leaders and contractor management to get to know each other and negotiate a new deal. The contract extension, if ratified by the rank and file, will take effect April 22, so it is, in effect, a 14-month contract, Jones said. Jones said there are no benefit changes in the contract extension. “That’s a good thing, too, with the current climate we’re seeing around the (DOE) complex,” he said.

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