The Department of Energy’s landlord contractor at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio last week signed a new contract with United Steelworkers members at the former gaseous diffusion plant, a union representative said Tuesday.
A group of about 65 United Steelworkers (USW) Local 689 members ratified a new contract with North Wind Dynamics on Wednesday, Dec. 4, Herman Potter, local president, told Exchange Monitor.
A pay raise and retention of a “Cadillac” health insurance plan are retroactive to January 2022, when the North Wind company secured a new Infrastructure Support Services or “roads and grounds” contract at the Portsmouth Site, Potter said. The updated contract runs until mid-December 2026, when North Wind’s current DOE contract expires, Potter said.
Idaho-based North Wind already provided site services at the DOE complex prior to 2022, as it led a joint venture, Portsmouth Mission Alliance, which also included Swift & Staley as a partner.
North Wind Dynamics current government contract at Portsmouth is valued at $163 million, according to a DOE chart. Potter said the union got a modest wage increase, partly because of the fixed price nature of the DOE contract.
The local union president said the USW successfully negotiated back pay for one member temporarily sent home after refusing to be vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
