With contract negotiations between Consolidated Nuclear Security and the Metal Trades Council (MTC) stalled, at least 1,100 of about 3,000 total workers at the Pantex Plant will almost certainly not report to work today after going on strike at midnight Saturday, according to officials. MTC President Clarence Rashada told Weapons Complex Morning Briefing yesterday he thinks it could take at least two or three weeks before CNS and MTC negotiators can hammer out a deal. Eighty-seven percent of unionized workers at the nuclear-warhead assembly/disassembly site voted Thursday to strike and reject a “best and revised final offer” by CNS, which followed more than seven months of contract negotiations and rejection of the original “best and final offer” early this month. MTC and CNS representatives have met since Thursday’s vote, but remain at an impasse, according to an MTC press release.
"Wages are not the issue," Rashada said in a statement. "Benefits, sick leave, medical coverage, prescription drugs, those are the issues." Rashada told Weapons Complex Morning Briefing that MTC leadership recommended its members accept the revised contract, but workers did not. He said a “lot of anger” exists among striking Pantex employees about the possibility of having to accept reduced benefits through a new contract. This is reportedly the first strike of the Pantex general workforce since the 1970s.
Compared to the early August “best and final offer,” CNS’ “best and revised final offer” notably conceded in the areas of pension contributions and retiree health benefits, but Rashada said the updated offer would still mean a different pension plan for new hires, and would increase retirees’ healthcare costs. The revised offer proposed that workers contribute 0.5 percent of their salary to pension plans for each of the next two full calendar years, according to documents obtained by Weapons Complex Morning Briefing. The proposed 2017 pension payment would have halved the 1 percent figure outlined in the early August offer. Pantex workers currently do not pay anything toward their pensions.The revised offer also proposed a 7 percent annual reduction in healthcare cost share burdens for retirees compared to the previous best offer. The latest offer would have required retirees to pay 20 percent of their healthcare premiums in 2016, 21 percent in 2017, 22 percent in 2018, and 23 percent in 2019.
The revised offer would have frozen sick leave hours accrued until Jan. 1, effective on that date, but would have provided 40 hours of annual personal leave that could be used for personal illness or injury, according to the documents. Unused personal leave could be banked year-to-year up to a maximum of 80 hours.
Vice President and Pantex Site Manager Michelle Reichert on Friday sent an email to all Pantex employees stating that work would continue despite any work stoppage MTC might declare. Work will be available for all employees, including those represented by MTC, she said. “I ask that each of you continue to ensure that safety, security, and quality standards are your priority, and that we treat each other with the utmost respect,” Reichert wrote.
