Talk about Bartlett

[idrum4food]

Or.........Why don't utilities follow in Diablo's footsteps and recruit all the techs themselves. Cut out the middle man and save money while paying the tech a fair wage and PD?

The middle man in anything always makes money.

[Tech-A]

 I called Bartlett  yesterday, they said that Ft.Calhoun was staffed and they might be staffing Limerick and Maryland jobs maybe next week with a report date in feb. Its 2-3 months? till Ft.Calhoun starts and they are allready staffed? ??
They  didnt  bother to say anything about Wolf creek or the other jobs that bartlett has. "Like I dont know that Bartlett has ALL the contracts."  I dunno it just seems to me that the recruiters  are tring to staff the  "CRAPPY" plants first..
I admire Eric being on here talking and being open but, If Eric dosent screw you over one of the recruiters will.
And if there was more than just 1 company, I would just call the other one and get a job with them, but of course  .WE will be held over a barrel. than again I could call back and tell the recruiter that they are liars, then they would put me on BLACK LIST................

[idrum4food]

Tech-A,
Us over a barrel? Have you seen the outage list for next spring. Do the math. Lets say there are 1000 techs in the tech pool and each plant needed only 50 techs. That will staff 20 plants. which leaves 10 - 20 plants unstaffed. Of course their trying to staff the crappie plants early. You may not get to work where you want but if a few techs (200) were to hold out, you may be able to name your price.

I think Bartlett may have put themselves over a barrel unless they can start spittin out seniors in the next 3 months. This will probably be a good chance for individuals who want to start a HP career as plants may start relaxing their quals on juniors just to be able to staff their outage.

Smile - better times are ahead for road techs. See my post on "when only one company is formed".

[Already Gone]

The fact that there are more outages than techs has nothing to do with how many companies there are.  There could be fifty or sixty companies, all drawing from that same 1000 techs.
This is not the first time that this has happened.  Going by past history, I'd say that they'd settle for 40 techs each instead of 50 and just cut the break times down from 3 hours to 2.  That oughtta do it.

[Eric_Bartlett]

I called Bartlett  yesterday, they said that Ft.Calhoun was staffed and they might be staffing Limerick and Maryland jobs maybe next week with a report date in feb. Its 2-3 months? till Ft.Calhoun starts and they are allready staffed? ??
They  didnt  bother to say anything about Wolf creek or the other jobs that bartlett has. "Like I dont know that Bartlett has ALL the contracts."  I dunno it just seems to me that the recruiters  are tring to staff the  "CRAPPY" plants first..
I admire Eric being on here talking and being open but, If Eric dosent screw you over one of the recruiters will.
And if there was more than just 1 company, I would just call the other one and get a job with them, but of course  .WE will be held over a barrel. than again I could call back and tell the recruiter that they are liars, then they would put me on BLACK LIST................

Its not that we are try'n to staff all the "crappy" plants first, we're staff'n the plants that talked to us first.  Calhoun may be in Feb., but it pretty much staffed  from the Cooper transfers, as Wolf Creek will be pretty much be staffing from the Calhoun transfers.   Feel free to call us liars, been called worse, that wont get ya on a "black list", hell I get yelled and cussed at by alot of techs, and they happen to be work'n for us.   As far as being held over a barrell, that's the position Bartlett is in.  Without techs we dont exist, you happen to exist without us.  There are alternatives to working for us out there, feel free to explore them.  If you desperatley don't want to work for us, then Oh well, there will be nothing I or anyone can do to get you to work for us.  Our loss?, your loss? only time will tell.  Have a good and prosperous day.

Eric

[SloGlo]

in order to stay on topice.... now that bartlett is buying numanco..... 'n attempteen to mollify a bunch a posters on this thread, not to stir anything up yinz unnerstan; 'kass eye'd never due dat....
why doesn't bartlett start making career outage workers permanent employees?  that way, they (bartlett) woud have a known solid pool of techs to draw from, show resumes to sites, have backgrounds 'n securities all prepared 'n ready to go, etc, etc, etc.   also, they (permant outage techs) would have a solid employment history with which to go to the bank, a direct deposit system for all monies due, etc., etc, etc. 
jist an innerscent quesshun.

[Havasu_Dude]

          Here is my 2 cents worth.  Bartlett is a better company today than it was in the old days.  I know there are people that don't care who they work for as long as the money is there and there are people that will not work for this one or that one. Let's reveiw, 3 in and 3 out is gone. Hide and seek for a grand a week is no more. Getting 9 or more months outage work a year is no more. It is no longer a easy job, you have to work for a living. You need sensitivity training so you don't offend anyone. So the days of working as a HP/RP Tech because it is so much money for so little work is no more. I don't understand someone saying that they have to work for Bartlett to eat and feed their family. If you do, you are spending way to much on food. Look at your outgoing expenses. With a few exceptions, I would say most people don't need that kind of money to live.  They WANT that kind of money. Will wages drop because Bartlett has most everything out there. I don't think so, but if it does I beleive Techs will start doing other jobs and there will be a larger shortage of techs. If you don't want to work for a certain company, then don't. But don't tell me you HAVE to work for them to eat.  Take a different job, spend less at the mall, eat out less, buy a cheaper car. You could even sell your house and move to a cheaper area where there is work.  Everyone has a choice. You can say no. It might require changes in your lifstyle, but you have a choice. So growup, realize it is a choice, make a choice and live with it.                            Darin

[Eric_Bartlett]

why doesn't bartlett start making career outage workers permanent employees?  that way, they (bartlett) woud have a known solid pool of techs to draw from, show resumes to sites, have backgrounds 'n securities all prepared 'n ready to go, etc, etc, etc.   also, they (permant outage techs) would have a solid employment history with which to go to the bank, a direct deposit system for all monies due, etc., etc, etc. 
jist an innerscent quesshun.

good question, let me answer it with a question - what do we do with you in between jobs, where do we have you work? We do do something of the nature at Duke wth the "Core" techs, same thing at Progress (Carolinas at least) - but until more utilities wanna keep contractors onsite all year round we have no where to put ya.  There are some techs that end up on a good roll, go'n from outage to outage to DOE or D&D then back to outage so on and so forth, but when it comes down to it you all know this is a buisness, with the number 1 rule, if we can't bill it we can't pay it, cuz if we paid what we can't bill we wont be here very long - I know there are techs out there that will say thats just a cop-out but today, especially in today's market, having taking on investors that want a return that be the cold hard truth of the matter.  Even in the old days if a vendor paid out what they couldn't bill for that vendor went on a down slide - look at the bounced checks of the 80's and 90's - look at how many contractors are left - where is IRM, ARC, Rad Services, Hydro, PSESI, Octagon, Energy Services, NSS, etc, etc, etc - some of them ended up paying out what they couldn't bill for and look what it got them.  Just the law of buisness - trust me if we could work ya all year long we would.

Eric

[RAD-GHOST]

What are the duke techs making today?  I heard somewhere around $18.00 an hour, probably reasonable for the area?

RG

[Already Gone]

Let's reveiw, 3 in and 3 out is gone. Hide and seek for a grand a week is no more. Getting 9 or more months outage work a year is no more. It is no longer a easy job, you have to work for a living. You need sensitivity training so you don't offend anyone. So the days of working as a HP/RP Tech because it is so much money for so little work is no more

I just gotta throw the flag on that one.  While the "official" line is that 3in/3out doesn't exist, it is still the actual practice at very many power plants and condoned by management at some others even now.  The only variation I have seen on it is 2 in / 2 out.  The "hide 'n seek for a grand a week" is gone.  Now, it's closer to two grand, but every crew of four techs always seems to have only three most of the time.
I don't know what you call "work".  Climbing a scaffold to get a dose rate and a smear may raise your heart rate for a few  minutes, but it's nothing compared to actual work.  You really ought to pay attention to what everyone else is doing around the plant for a while.  You're not going to see very many Boilermakers or Pipefitters who manage to knit two scarves a day while on the clock.

I think it is way past time for all the RP techs to get freakin' real already and realize that we've all been cruisin' for a long time and everybody but us has known it all along.  We've been so busy with our sky-high opinion of ourselves that we forgot to notice that nobody's really begging us to come and take their money.  If you want to blame that on one company or another having a monopoly, you're just continuing the denial phase.

[Havasu_Dude]

     Beer Court, Maybe I was not clear in my post. So here you go.  This is harder "work" than it used to be. The days of cards all day with not hitters is all but gone. I am not saying it is real "work". What do I calll real work. I was raised on a rice farm and I would call that real work. I have worked masonary construction and I would call that real work. I have framed houses and I would call that real work. I have also spent 11 out of 12 hours at certain plants dressed out and although I would not call that real work, it is a pain. And if 3 in 3 out or 2 's is still going on, I have just been going to the wrong plants. My statement is that if you don't want to work for a certain company, then don't. Go out and get a job outside nuclear power where you have to do "real" work. Change your craft in nuclear power. Work at a DOE site. Take a house job and move to that area. Start your own biz. Just don't tell me you have to work for a certain company so you and your family can eat. There are other choices. They might not be as easy, but they are there. By they way, the word "you" in this post is in no way directed at you.

[Tech-A]

As I am apparently the recruiter who "screwed you over", Tech-A, I wanted to explain to you the way that the Cooper, Fort Calhoun and Wolf Creek outages work. All three of those plants made an agreement that they would get their techs out on time to go to the next plant in line so as to cut down on the training costs. Since Cooper is the first outage of the season everybody and their mother wants to get into Cooper. From Cooper the techs roll into Fort Calhoun with a couple dropping off to go to another plant. From Ft. Calhoun they roll into Wolf Creek with a couple dropping off there as well. And if you get accepted at Cooper, you're basically accepted at all three, so as you can see, it was staffed pretty fast.

------> There are slots available at Wolf Creek still, but they are filling up quickly.<-----------

I don't understand how telling you a plant is staffed is screwing you over. Maybe if I hired you then took you off the list you could say I screwed you over. But I have never, in the short time I've been here, screwed anyone over. I have been fair, honest and up front about anything that is going on. I think I have been fairly well received by the techs I have dealt with even though I've only been here for about 6 months now. A few even call me up just to chat. As Jimmy Buffett once said, "Don't try to describe the scenery if you've never seen it." I don't get any joy out of telling someone I don't have a job for them.
Kevin - Bartlett

Kevin, I dont know if it was you I was talking to or not. 
  I did already know about the Cooper, Ft.Caloun, Wolf Creek deal., but when I asked about Ft,Calhoun I was told that it was staffed ,  then I went on to ask about any other jobs going on and I was only told about Limerick and the Maryland job.
Now here comes the truth.
  1 - I was purposely NOT told about Wof Creek  because staffing limerick,Maryland job was more important. OR
   2- Whom ever I talked to forgot about the Wolf Creek job. that  IS being staffed as quoted above.
  Only the person I talked to knows the truth. But I would put my bets on #1
  The point is the same nomatter who I talked to. Bartlett is a business to make money they will do what it takes to staff a job.
even at the exspence of some one else.

[Surveyors_mato]

Kevin, I dont know if it was you I was talking to or not. 
  I did already know about the Cooper, Ft.Caloun, Wolf Creek deal., but when I asked about Ft,Calhoun I was told that it was staffed ,  then I went on to ask about any other jobs going on and I was only told about Limerick and the Maryland job.
Now here comes the truth.
  1 - I was purposely NOT told about Wof Creek  because staffing limerick,Maryland job was more important. OR
   2- Whom ever I talked to forgot about the Wolf Creek job. that  IS being staffed as quoted above.
  Only the person I talked to knows the truth. But I would put my bets on #1
  The point is the same nomatter who I talked to. Bartlett is a business to make money they will do what it takes to staff a job.
even at the exspence of some one else.

  Well, I'm not the moderator annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd I'm not tryin'to start nothin', I'm just saying, The topic is Bartlett buying Numanco not Bartlett screws ya over during a takeover. I would Like to see this in the donors sections as it might lead
to some very candid dialogue between techs and the Alleged screwers at the corporate home office...

  And yes to all else who read this. I know there are unhappy people in every part of this industry. everyone has something bad that has happened in the past with the copany they were working for. I also think that in this instance since Bartlett is the only company left for all intents and purposes, it is only logical that they should be recieving such scathing responses to this buyout. Will they care? I think not. Is the owner of Bartlett sitting somewhere in a very well appointed mansion, reading this and smiling? Maybe. Is it really going to matter to our work? Not a damn bit.

  This is his buisness and now we work for him or no one. So if he wants to keep his buisness, he pays he makes work for us and............or he goes down to " Rent-a-felon" and trys to bring people in fresh off the street and train them and keep contracts while doing it and.............you get the picture.

  Besides, maybe Bartlett has been so hard on techs in the past because nobody loved him. Maybe he just needs a big hug to become the Santa Claus that's hidden inside.............................or not.

[Nuclear NASCAR]

  Well, I'm not the moderator annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd I'm not tryin'to start nothin', I'm just saying, The topic is Bartlett buying Numanco not Bartlett screws ya over during a takeover.......

Well said, Surveyors_mato.  If members have something to add about the announced possible acquisition of Numanco by Bartlett this is the place for it.  Anything else belongs in another thread.  Thanks everyone for remembering this and abiding by it.

[darkmatter]

 You're not going to see very many Boilermakers or Pipefitters who manage to knit two scarves a day while on the clock.

? ? ? ? I havn't seen any of the alternative work habits you speak of lately, and why would you pick on Boilermakers or Pipefitters, some of them know how to knit one pearl two.

[Tech-A]

  Well, I'm not the moderator annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd I'm not tryin'to start nothin', I'm just saying, The topic is Bartlett buying Numanco not Bartlett screws ya over during a takeover. I would Like to see this in the donors sections as it might lead
to some very candid dialogue between techs and the Alleged screwers at the corporate home office...

  And yes to all else who read this. I know there are unhappy people in every part of this industry. everyone has something bad that has happened in the past with the copany they were working for. I also think that in this instance since Bartlett is the only company left for all intents and purposes, it is only logical that they should be recieving such scathing responses to this buyout. Will they care? I think not. Is the owner of Bartlett sitting somewhere in a very well appointed mansion, reading this and smiling? Maybe. Is it really going to matter to our work? Not a damn bit.

  This is his buisness and now we work for him or no one. So if he wants to keep his buisness, he pays he makes work for us and............or he goes down to " Rent-a-felon" and trys to bring people in fresh off the street and train them and keep contracts while doing it and.............you get the picture.

  Besides, maybe Bartlett has been so hard on techs in the past because nobody loved him. Maybe he just needs a big hug to become the Santa Claus that's hidden inside.............................or not.

"Bartlett buying Numanco" 
If that is a question of  if they are or are not buying Numanco then this thread is dead already.
If its a question of wether or not its a good thing or not then my post is still good.
Because when Bartlett  buys Numanco then there will only be basicly one company  for you to work for and one company for the utilities to get techs from.
It would be a good thing if Bartlett tells the utilities your going to pay this much for tech or your not getting any and we see the pay raises.
It will be a bad thing if Bartlett desides to tell YOU where you are going to work.." you are are going to work at this plant because we need it staffed or you are not going to work at all."
Ya, Things can get REAL ugly.  If they are willing to do SHADDY stuff now then there isnt nothing to stop them later.
We can only wait and see what Bartlett does

[felchie]

I for one don't think BNI buying NUM is that big of a deal, there is always
going to be plenty of work for those who want it and are willing to put
forth a little effort and just be honest with the recruiters when you call.

I for one do not want year round employment!  (see Eric's entry),
I am working more now than ever and almost have to go into the
witness protection program to get my summers off!  If I wanted to
(or most anyone in the HP field) you coukld work year round with out
much trouble, I enjoy my time off and that is why I do this...

HavDude....I thought you were getting out of this!!!!How ya doing?

[Eric_Bartlett]

...If members have something to add about the announced possible acquisition of Numanco by Bartlett this is the place for it.  Anything else belongs in another thread...t.

NN thanks for the reminder, most of the posts I've seen and replied to should probably be on the "I Love Bartlett" thread, but alas I can't sit by without answering questions or accusations.  As far as Bartlett buying Numanco and lets not forget Sun Technical we be gett'n very close - right now as I've posted in the past there is a letter of intent out there from Bartlett to purchase both entities.  We're in the final stages and hopefully soon we will see the final outcome.  As I find out info, I'll post it.   Take it slow....

Eric

[FULTS11]

Eric I just got back on so I will give you a call Mon.
I thought the deal between BNI and Numanco included Sun

[Eric_Bartlett]

The deal is actually between Bartlett & AEP for the purchase of Sun Technical & Numanco - I'm outa here - have a good weekend - talk at ya'll Monday


Eric

[SloGlo]

good question, let me answer it with a question - what do we do with you in between jobs, where do we have you work?

trieen two stay ona topic of bartlett buyin numanco....after yinze got alla dem contracts, techs ina rolladex, 'n 'r wandereen what to do...

wail, jist off da top a my haid, i'd say yinz cood put them to work as recruiters.  doesn't take hardly any cash fer phone/internet work, now does it.  'n the returns cood be priceless.  jist think, good techs cood pull more good techs, 'cause they both know each other.  outages wood git staffed with less beacheen.  all parties know da particulars.  clientz 'r happier.  eye may be bline, butt eye don't sea a downside hear.

[mercaptan]

A little off-topic, but - Staff aug/outage worker here, formerly at DC Cook under Sun, now elsewhere on the road - I am cheering for anyone to buy Sun, they can't run that shop worse than it was.  Can tell many stories of Sun lying on rates, dates, and many more rates over last 4 years.  Just my 2 cents. 

[dosetek]

Its a done deal go to bartlettinc.com it's posted on their site as of today.

[Rennhack]

http://bartlettinc.com/employment/press%20release.pdf   

I just received an announcement today that Bartlett's purchase of Numanco Services and SUN Technical Services is complete.  This is how the Balance of Power works out:

Ken Currie will continue as President of SUN, he reports to Bill Nevelos, President and CEO of Bartlett Nuclear, Inc.

Jimmy Orr will be Joining Bartlett as Business Manager of Utility Division and will be reporting to Jerry Hiatt, President of Utility Division

Tina Inman, Operations Manager of Numanco's Tulsa Office will be reporting to Nick DiMascio, President of Operations Division.

http://bartlettinc.com/employment/press%20release.pdf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Bartlett Holdings, Inc. Announces the Acquisition of Numanco LLC
PLYMOUTH, MA – November 22, 2004 – Bartlett Holdings, Inc. (Bartlett) completed the acquisition
of Numanco LLC, a company previously-owned by American Electric Power Corporation (AEP).
Numanco LLC is comprised of Numanco Services (Numanco), a provider of temporary staff
augmentation services to commercial nuclear utilities, and SUN Technical (SUN), a provider of
temporary staff augmentation services, specializing in professional and technical employees, to both
nuclear and fossil sites within the utility industry.
"The union of Bartlett and Numanco marks a significant milestone in our company's history," stated Bill
Nevelos, President and CEO of Bartlett. "There is significant synergy between the customers and
services of these two longstanding companies that will provide greater value to the industry as a whole."
The Numanco acquisition will continue to strengthen Bartlett's capabilities and achieve its growth goals
and strategic business plan objectives. The complementary fit between the two companies will also help
mitigate industry concerns, identified by the Nuclear Energy Institute, regarding the effective utilization
of a shrinking nuclear workforce. In addition to extending its core business, Bartlett will be well
positioned to focus on new market opportunities across a wider customer base as a result of SUN's
expertise in providing professional and technical services.
About Bartlett
Bartlett, founded in 1979 and privately-owned, is the largest provider of radiation protection personnel
and decontamination/decommissioning services to the United States commercial nuclear power facilities.
Bartlett also serves the remainder of the utility industry, the Department of Energy and Department of
Defense. Bartlett's home office is based in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with regional offices in
Connecticut, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia. At various time of the year,
Bartlett staffs over 3,000 employees. Boston-based private equity firms Berkshire Partners and Summit
Partners lead an investment in Bartlett in early 2004
About Numanco
Numanco LLC, founded in 1975, is majority-owned by AEP and based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Numanco
provides temporary staff augmentation services, including radiation protection and decontamination
technicians to the commercial nuclear power industry and one decommissioned reactor. These
technicians generally support scheduled refueling, steam generator replacement, and maintenance
outages. At various points of the year, Numanco staffs nearly 600 employees.
About SUN Technical
SUN Technical, founded in 1981, is based in Reno, Nevada. SUN provides professional and technical
staff, such as engineers, planners, schedulers, power plant operators, instrumentation and calibration
technicians, and specialized craft personnel to the utility industries, including both nuclear and fossil sites.
At various points of the year, SUN staffs over 1,000 employees.
Contact:
Lauren McChesney
Marketing & Business Development
Bartlett Holdings, Inc.
(800) 225-0385 ext. 1149
lauren@bartlettinc.com

[jjordan]

I'm very curious to see how all of this will affect all of us! House and contractor alike. Currently I'm a house tech and don't need a temp agency. (but never say never) bartlett has had a few regiona offices for a while now, they just be a little bigger now, there here to stay , can't seem to figure how they can't make money, limited or no competition. Will maybe see a few new startup companies formed, but good luck! What about the rest of the Plymouth crew? What about Bruce, Paul Lovendale, Bill Tiley, Art Derosiers, and Eric too! I didn't see his name on the list, hope he doesn't have to report to Judy, or any other blasts from the past. I hope it all works out Ok for everybody, but I don't have a real warm and fuzzy here!.
JJ