Kenneth Fletcher
NS&D Monitor
6/12/2015
After five months of often tense contract negotiations, SOC-Los Alamos, the protective forces subcontractor for Los Alamos National Laboratory, has reached an agreement with labor union International Guards Union of American Local 69. This week, union members voted to ratify a five-year contract that includes the retirement benefits the union had sought to bring up to what it calls “industry standards,” and prevents SOC-LA from locking out union members. “This is a good deal for our members,” Chris Mandril, IGUA Local 69 Business Agent, said in a statement this week. “It was not easy, but staying at the table and pushing SOC-LA to do the right thing finally got our members the benefits they deserve. Without the threat of being locked out of their jobs, our guards can rest easy knowing that they will be able to continue to put food on the table for their families and they can look forward to a more secure retirement. That means a lot to the hard-working men and women who show up every day to keep New Mexico and our nation safe.”
The talks became contentious at points, with the union walking away from the negotiating table for several weeks in May. The union had accused SOC-Los Alamos of falsely claiming to be able to talk directly with the National Nuclear Safety Administration to pursue better retirement benefits—a key issue in the contract negotiations—to help obtain a 60-day extension to the contract negotiations, which the union agreed to on April 23. “Compromise is what made this deal possible,” Mandril said, “but it was IGUA’s determination not to compromise on the best interests of the guards that ensured it was a good deal for our members.”
M&O contractor Los Alamos National Security, LLC, was not a party to the talks but had developed a contingency force in the event the two sides are unable to reach an agreement before the collective bargaining agreement would have expired later this month. “The Laboratory is pleased that SOC-LA and the International Guards Union of America Local # 69 were able to reach a negotiated five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement,” Los Alamos spokesman Kevin Roark said in a written response this week. SOC-LA did not respond to request for comment late this week.
