The Department of Energy’s landlord contractor at the Hanford Site in Washington state said Friday its recent proposal to unionized guards, locked out since Thanksgiving, is not likely to get much different.
The proposal voted down by Hanford Guards Union Local 21 earlier this month represented “our best and final offer,” a spokesperson for Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) said Friday.
“HMIS has made concessions during negotiations and the offer we provided on Dec. 5 was our best and final offer,” a spokesperson for the site services contractor said in a statement sent to local media outlets as well as Exchange Monitor. HMIS also said it lacks authority to modify DOE security requirements.
The two sides agree on 24 of the 28 sections of the contract, the HMIS spokesperson said. Two of the remaining issues include “medical autonomy,” which includes potential future vaccine requirements, and concerns about the federal Human Reliability Program.
The latter is a DOE program to vet the “physical and mental suitability” of people in sensitive security jobs, according to the program’s public webpage. DOE uses “continuous evaluation” to spot those with alcohol or drug abuse issues or “any other condition or circumstance that may be of a security or safety concern.”
“HMIS lacks legal authority to negotiate government mandated requirements,” according to the contractor statement. The contractor team, which also includes Centerra and Parsons, also said the wage increase offered Dec. 5 “would let its federal protective force remain the highest paid in the Department of Energy complex, and also the highest paid security force in our local region.”
The last contract expired Nov. 1 and on Nov. 27 HMIS locked out the Hanford Guards Union members, which make up two thirds of the armed security patrol at the former plutonium production complex.
Earlier Friday, Local 21 President Chris Hall said the lockout dragged on “and HMIS is refusing to negotiate.”
