The hundreds of security personnel still on strike at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina are expected to return soon as their union and employer wrap up negotiations for a contract that won’t expire until October 2022.
It was not immediately clear when the deal will be signed. Among its provisions, the new labor agreement is six months shorter than previously offered and will keep a temporary lid on health insurance premiums.
A spokesman for security contractor Centerra-SRS said the parties hope to return striking employees to work as soon as possible.
On Aug. 15, nearly half of the 688 workers employed by Centerra-SRS went on strike after union United Professional Pro-Force of Savannah River (UPPSR) rejected a final offer on a new collective bargaining agreement the sides had been working on all year.
Centerra’s offer included an increase in insurance premiums workers weren’t willing to pay, according to UPPSR. Also, the deal would have given the contractor the ability to change the contract at its discretion, the union said.
The union represents 337 employees in the Centerra-SRS security workforce. As of Tuesday, just 64 of the 337 had either crossed the picket line or not gone on strike at all.
Representatives from UPPSR and Centerra met on Oct. 4 and 5, their first direct talks since the strike began.
Centerra-SRS spokesman Rob Davis said the new deal includes minor changes that both sides accepted. Davis would not verify who requested the specific changes, but said the union wanted to focus on four areas: the length of the contract, computation of holiday pay, discipline, and health insurance. “The Company advised the Union that any changes would have to be cost neutral and would have to be implemented in a way that would not increase the cost of the contract to the Government,” he said by email.
Changes to the deal include: reducing the length of the contract from six years to five and one-half years; replacing a 50 cent per hour shift differential that was in the initial proposal with a 20 cent per hour pay increase for all employees; and adjusting the language on employee discipline to alleviate concerns of the company and union. Also, Centerra agreed to not raise the percentage of health insurance premiums paid by employees during the December 2017 open enrollment period.
“There were some minor adjustments that were approved by the Company as they did not increase the taxpayer costs associated with the Collective Bargaining Agreement,” Davis wrote.
Centerra has replaced picketing workers using a contingency plan that includes bringing in staff from other DOE sites to address the loss of workers at SRS. Centerra is incurring costs due to the labor action, but Davis said some expenses were offset by not having to pay those on strike.
Attempts to reach UPPSR were unsuccessful.
“The Company is pleased that our bargaining unit employees will be returning to work and look forward to seeing them back at the Site as soon as possible,” Davis wrote. “We now look forward to continuing the important mission of protecting SRS employees and security interests in a safe, effective and cost-efficient manner.”
Centerra-SRS provides security support for the 310-square-mile site near Aiken, S.C. Those services include access control, property protection, law enforcement, criminal investigations, and traffic control. The company’s 10-year, $1 billion contract expires on Oct. 7, 2019.
In July, the Energy Department issued a request for information (RFI) for parties interested in taking on the new contract. About 50 people, representing a host of security companies and Energy Department contractors, attended the Aug. 14 industry day for the new contract. Among the companies represented were Centerra, BWX Technologies, Wastren Advantage, the Government Training Institute, Paragon Systems, Professional Project Services, E2 Consulting, and Redcon Solutions Group, according to an online sign-in sheet.
