Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
6/6/2014
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—Characterizing the benefits changes and workforce reductions facing workers at Y-12 and Pantex as a "fair deal," Jim Haynes, the president of new Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security, said this week that the changes coming at the sites would benefit workers in the long-term. "We’ve been very honest with employees that in order for us to be successful we need employees to give in certain areas," Haynes said during a speech at the Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit, held here., later adding: "We’re asking employees to sacrifice some today so the key get is we can reinvest the savings back into the sites, something we’ve never been able to do."
In recent weeks, CNS has announced plans to cut benefits so they align with Department of Energy regulations, and the company has trimmed the workforce at both sites through Voluntary Separation Programs, shedding 106 jobs at Y-12 and 20 jobs at Pantex. This week, the company formally extended job offers to a combined 4,500 workers at both sites—virtually all workers, excluding those that took the layoff packages, management, and 3,300 union workers, who were guaranteed jobs thanks to collective bargaining agreements. CNS formally takes over management of the combined contract July 1.
Haynes: Employees Have Shown ‘Accepting Attitude’
On the sidelines of the summit, Haynes said employees had shown an "accepting attitude" about the changes, which he said would help the contractor make infrastructure improvements at the sites. "We simply have to reinvest in those facilities so we create a safer and more secure worksite, a workplace environment for our employees," he said during his speech. "No matter how talented or dedicated the workforce is, if the facilities fail we can’t do our job."
Before CNS began transition, there were fears among many workers that the contractor would institute massive job cuts to meet the more than $3 billion in savings it has promised to generate during the life of the 10-year contract. "Overall the reception of the workforce at both sites has been positive, it’s been accepting. There’s been a recognition that as long as this is fair, change is good because it means we can sustain the capability of the plant and create opportunities for long-term employment for these people," Haynes said. "I think there was a fear that there would be a huge slashing of jobs or benefits. That’s not the way we approach this."
NNSA Keeping an Eye on Morale
NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz noted that Y-12 and Pantex officials have kept a close eye on safety and security issues during the transition, and had not found there to be an uptick due to the distraction of the contract turnover. "These kinds of transitions always engender a certain amount of uncertainty and trepidation about the future, what’s my role going to be under the new leadership, will still things work the same way, will new leadership come in and fundamentally change things and threaten the way I work," he said. After holding an all-hands meeting at Y-12 this week and visiting with plant employees, he said morale was good among the workforce. "Things have worked very well during this period," he said.
NNSA Production Office Manager Steve Erhart said that with the completion of transition looming, the morale of employees is improving. "We’ve seen some anxiety here and there and that’s kind of predictable," he said. "Overall I’m very proud of the workforce staying focused and doing the work they need to do. We’re actually seeing the anxiety level coming down. People are getting their minds away from the change and completely back on the work at hand."
Haynes: No Plans to Keep Cutting Benefits
Haynes said CNS has no plans to keep cutting benefits and that current workforce levels are designed to sustain the plants into the future. "We approach this as we need a certain size workforce to safely and securely accomplish the mission but we don’t have an intention of going below that because then we jeopardize the mission," he said. "We need to normalize the benefits down to be compliant with DOE orders but we don’t intend to keep driving it down so we upset the workforce more than we need to. We’re trying to moderate this thing so we keep the workforce working with us. We try to term it as a win-win-win. It’s a win for the customer, it’s a win for the contractor and it’s a win for the employees."
Haynes said that all-hands meetings and various forums where CNS officials have answered questions about the changes and met with employees has helped ease the transition. "I think they’ve see us as open and transparent and honest and genuinely concerned about the right things—not here just to take back as much money as we can, but to come up with a final solution," he said.
