Bids for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s combined Y-12/Pantex management and operating contract were submitted seven weeks ago and the three bidders for the contract are in the middle of oral presentations this week, but union representatives from the two plants remain concerned about the impact the contract could have on the workforce at the sites. Ron Ault, the President of the Metal Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, sent a letter late last month to Energy Secretary Steven Chu continuing to complain that workers are not protected in the proposed contract. Specifically, the Metal Trades Council, which represents workers at both plants, said the final Request for Proposals does not contain provisions requiring contractors to hire the existing workforce, nor does it contain provisions protecting the wages and fringe benefits of workers. “The effects of the NNSA’s actions will be felt far beyond Pantex and Y-12, because they threaten the community standards of the entire regions where these facilities are located,” Ault wrote in the letter, which was signed by 11 other MTD vice presidents that make up the Metal Trades Department’s executive council.
Ault has previously met with NNSA Administrator Tom D’Agostino and Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman, and the NNSA has publicly said that employees will be offered a right of first refusal for their jobs. The union, however, wants stronger language that would require contractors to retain all incumbent employees but would still allow the contractors to restructure the workforce, Ault told NW&M Monitor. “The Metal Trades Department has tried to explain the situation and work with the NNSA to avoid such dire consequences; however, the NNSA is continuing with its final request for proposal,” Ault said in his letter to Chu. “We ask for the Department of Energy’s assistance in this matter, to ensure that the hardworking workforces at both Y-12 and Pantex will continue their employment, with their established wages and benefits."
