Talk about Bartlett

[Radwraith]

As Sloglo would probably put it... Dis be a Bidness. It don't serve no1 to hold the rates down.
Seriously though, I think I've avoided most of the common problems w/Big blue by recognizeing that for good or Ill they are a Business.(Now a Larger one ) If their Interests and yours coicide you will profit... If not WELLL.... I suggest trying to find yourself in a position where they do.  By the way... As to DD. Inthe current policy, If you already have it and your Bank hasn't changed, the finace wizards will let you keep it . I guess this is phase one of bringing it out across the board.

[ageoldtech]

Eric, I was wondering when you would make a post. You guys have allways given me what I deserve, and for that i am truly grateful.

[Eric_Bartlett]

ageoldtech -
If you know me then you know how I feel - everyone has a right to thier opinions, everyone has a right to complain, and everyone sees things a little bit (or alot) differently.  Give me a call, let me know what has happened and if the company truly owes you money I will make sure you get it.  If you don't contact me to tell me whats up, I cant do anything about it - especially since I have no idea what we did/didn't do. 

[jedball]

Eric,
Does this mean; Since I no longer owe Bartlett any money, I'm off the Probation list and can work again seeing how Bartlett now has 100% of the nation's commercial power plants?

[Eric_Bartlett]

Eric,Does this mean; Since I no longer owe Bartlett any money, I'm off the Probation list and can work again seeing how Bartlett now has 100% of the nation's commercial power plants?

Jed, just to clarify things Bartlett does not have 100% of the commercial power plants.  We may have contracts(in 1 form or another) with 100% but we don't fill 100% of the positions.  There are other companies out there to apply with...try Atlantic, Icesolv, DeNuke to name a few.

[Rennhack]

Diablo Canyon staffs their own outages...

[jedball]

Allow me to clarify my statement; 100% of the available commercial power plant HP contracts.

However you didn't answer my first question; since I no longer owe Bartlett any money, am I off the Probation list and I can work with Bartlett again.

You stated in an email to me; Bartlett doesn't hire people that owe them money unless an agreement is made. Do I still owe Bartlett any money?

Why is Bartlett unwilling to use all qualified HP techs to fill the open jobs? 28 techs short at McGuire, short at IP3, techs walking out at Perry, calling people that have been out for 10 years or more, techs failing the MMPI, NEU test?

Thank you Mike, I know Diablo staffs their own outages so I guess there is no contract there for HP staffing.

[Rennhack]

Diablo hires the temporary workers for the outages, and they pay very well you could give them a call.  They don't just use house people.

Also, don't forget the MANY fantastic positions at DOE sites.  They pay per diem if the job lasts less than a year.  And many jobs last longer. Personally, I haven't been in a power plant in years.  There are possibly hundreds of companies putting Techs in at DOE, FUSRAP and EPA sites around the country.  There might be one in your back yard!

[Eric_Bartlett]

Allow me to clarify my statement; 100% of the available commercial power plant HP contracts.

Once again as I stated earlier, Bartlett may have contracts at 100% of the plants, in one form or another, we did not however supply 100% of the requested HP techs to those sites.

[SloGlo]

Bartlett now has 100% of the nation's commercial power plants

dude, not to bust yer bubble, but bartlett does not, never has, and never won't have 100% of the nation's commercial power plants.  'n iffen yinz need money to replenish the bank account after paying them back, then call up the contractors that have the backup contracts.  they traditionally pay better.   personallly, i 'member when bruce was in that bracket... made for an interesting outage when ya showed up at a rad services plant, or a numanco plant with a bartlett hard hat on!

[Already Gone]

Yer mostly right slo, but power plants no longer allow a backup contract company to pay more than the prime contractor.  Well, there is probably an exception to prove this rule, but almost all backup contracts for the past few years have paid exactly the same as the prime.

[alphadude]

Beer Court general statements like you made should be withheld pending investigation into the facts. It seems to be the root of a lot of speculation here and although you tempered it with "there may be exceptions" the statement was subjective and not well founded. Did you poll plants to get this information or are you depending on the rumor mill to fuel the statements. Have you managed several different plant contracts to have a basis for this? With the one or two contracts I was involved with there was an allowance and variance for pay. There is usually no allowance for "jumping ship" or switching companys.

[jedball]

Other than Diablo, can any one tell me of any power plant(s) that Bartlett does not have the HP contract for at this point in time? I mean if you want the outageschedule you don't have to pay for it, just look at Bartletts wish list for work.

[radgal]

Back on topic.....I've worked a few different fields for a lot of different companies and I feel that Bartlett was just about the best one. Worked for them for a few years straight.  They were straight forward, backed you up and payed you on time what they promised.   Go Bartlett!

[SloGlo]

eye yam in there with radgal....  although i have worked for companies with contracts that i wanted to work, i haven't had problems with bartlett that  didn't get resolved.  like any good relationship, there are times where parties involved disagree.  i have no problems working for them in the future.  iffen they pay me more'n what i'm maken where eye yam at, aisle werk fer them agin, rite aweigh!

[halflifer]

by my last count (and I think it's right, since it's less than my number of fingers) I've worked for 8 contract companies. Most of them paid on time, none of them was perfect (in my opinion....which i respect) all of them were at least OK, but BARTLETT was the only one where the BIG DOG said "call me anytime you have a problem and don't think my staff is taking care of you."
That speaks volumes........and I did spend some time on the dblsecretthing.

[Surveyors_mato]

The problem I've been told, is that asking questions here can be ( and has been ) miscunstrude as hate and discontent toward B and has or can lead to double secret probation and black balling. Soooooooooo, why is it that there seems to be no interest from B to assist in any way, the techs working TVA? Medical insurance screw ups for former Numanco techs because they" have nothing on us". Pay problems ie: yes PD no PD. Yes Travel, No Travel. And the best one, from one of our recent meeting with B reps, " well yes, B has the contract now but as long as we (B) get our money, TVA can do pretty much what ever they want and if you don't like it leave." Consensus being. We ( B) really don't care what you are dealing with at TVA because if you leave 1. you won't work anywhere. 2. There are many techs in the background that will do what we want for less. 3. Bruce don't run the show no more, I'ts the stock holders and you aren't high on there list of priorities.

  Now all the above are in no way to imply that I am unhappy with my wok. Believe it or not, I love my job. The abpve are things being talked about among techs in general and if the posts here are being read, it seems like it is industry wide.


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[Surveyors_mato]

Hey Eric,

  Here's another one. back in the day, the plants used to send techs to a 40hr. course followed by testing, for the NEU. Don't you think that Bartlett could look at this as a money maker from the standpoint of getting more SR. techs hired due to the fact that some fail and then have to work as Jr's or not work at all, there by costing B money. Self study by any tech is good but many aren't good at that. Not stupid but almost anyone will agree that a facilitated training program is far better that leave people to  hit or miss.


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[jedball]

First, thanks Mike for starting this subject, it can be very helpful to people with questions. If knowing people will join in to answer them. Bartletts web site is ok for some information, Recruiting, Insurance, but not enough contact info for the others.

1. How about a list of contact people and their job functions in the office, a "who is who" list and how we can email and or call them?

2. A chain of command to follow if someone had a/or problem(s)? Who to start with for that kind of problem and how to work up to the top of the food chain.

3. Now that Investors have come into play how and where do the old and new department players fit in?

4. Who is on the Board of Directors and their contact information?

5. How can or even if, enployees / road techs buy stock in the company and what's the current price and how is it listed?

[Eric_Bartlett]

Hey Eric,  Here's another one. back in the day, the plants used to send techs to a 40hr. course followed by testing, for the NEU. Don't you think that Bartlett could look at this as a money maker from the standpoint of getting more SR. techs hired due to the fact that some fail and then have to work as Jr's or not work at all, there by costing B money. Self study by any tech is good but many aren't good at that. Not stupid but almost anyone will agree that a facilitated training program is far better that leave people to  hit or miss.
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I may be wrong but I don't recall any 40 hr courses to prep for the NEU.  I do remember that when the test was first implemented sites used to have a prep course, normally 1/2 day to 1 day long (on the rare occasion 1-2 days)then the test would be administered.  As time went by sites stoped offering prep training, probably because the study information has become a lot more accessable to the techs between the internet and "hand me down" information passsed on from 1 tech to another.  I'm sure the amount of training time and money spent on it were also a factor.  I do agree with you that some sort of prep course would be benficial for all parties involved - the tech, the plant and the vendor.  It does no one any good to have a tech fail the exam and be downgraded or even worse sent down the road. 

Most sites don't require JHP techs to take and pass the exam, some do and I firmly belive that they, Jr's, should definatley have a prep course.  I do however advocate that if you can take the test as a JHP then do so.  It will give you an understanding of what to expect, what to study for, and help you get used to the testing "jitters", if you suffer from them.

Now I'm not an HP and never claimed to be one.  From what most techs tell me the exam is nonsense from what they have to do in real world situations.  All that aside I remember a time before the NEU that every site had thier own HP fundamentals exam.  Technicians, both Sr and Jr would have to take 2-3 differant HP exams per season.  There were for the most part no prep courses for those either.  We, the vendor, would be given a study guide from each site and asked to forward it to the techs scheduled to report for thier outage.  Now this old system led to far more test failures, technicians being sent down the road, and short handed situations than what I observe today.   

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the current system is flawless but has been greatly improved over the years.  As I stated earlier there would be a great benefit of having some sort of prep course for the NEU for SHPs that have expired on it, SHPs that are making the transition from the military, shipyards or DOE, and of course JHPs that are trying to gain as much knowledge and experience as they can.  Various people in our organization have been tasked to try to come up with some sort of training plan, where they are with right now I don't know but I'll inquire.

I apologize for being so long winded.

Eric

[Eric_Bartlett]

As most of you know I try to answer as many general questions and concerns as I can.   Most of what I can respond to is generalized info that pertains more to the industry than it does Bartlett as a company.  If any of you have questions for the company about the company feel free to call us.  I feel that its inappropriate for a corporation to answer specific questions about the company and/or it practices via this forum(or similar).  If you have legitimate questions and/or concerns that you need addressed feel free to contact anyone in personnel and if we can't answer your question or address your concern we will put you in touch with someone that can.  If you don't feel comfortable dealing with me or any other recruiter, you don't have to, just tell us you need to speak to some one else such as a manager or supervisor.  I'm in the process of reviewing our web site and will make the recommendation that more contact names, #'s and e-mail addresses be posted in the "contact us" section.     

Eric

[jedball]

Can anyone tell me who really owns Bartlett now?

Can we as road techs buy stock in this company?

[Rennhack]

http://www.bartlettinc.com/sp.cfm?pageid=1701

Berkshire Partners, a private equity investment firm owns half of what Bruce sold, with the other half being owned by Summit Partners, also a private equity and venture capital firm.

www.berkshirepartners.com/
http://www.berkshirepartners.com/5_1_22_press.shtml

www.summitpartners.com/
http://www.summitpartners.com/news/news_list.aspx?mid=6&type=pnews&SID=603&newsYear=2004

"Private equity" means no one can buy stock.

Who is who:
http://www.bartlettinc.com/sp.cfm?pageid=1703
http://www.bartlettinc.com/filelibrary/Organization_Chart.pdf

Contact info:
http://www.bartlettinc.com/sp.cfm?pageid=1706

[Eric_Bartlett]

How about posting the information that is published in Bartletts newsletter?  It has a subject on Questions and Answers concerning the new company.

Those are the general and sometimes specific question asked of the company that are answered by management - when I addresss a question or concern on your site it's done without managements consultation, consent and normally knowledge - hence my disclaimer on my posts that the views and opinions expressed are mine and mine alone and may not reflect those views of the company. 

[Eric_Bartlett]

Can anyone tell me who really owns Bartlett now?
Can we as road techs buy stock in this company?

Berkshire Partners, a private equity investment firm owns most of what Bruce sold, with a small portion being owned by Summit Partners, also a private equity and venture capital firm.
"Private equity" means no one can buy stock.

as a follow up Berkshire & Summit are financial investors in Bartlett who have elected Bill Nevelos to be President and CEO of the organization.   

No, you as road techs, as we here in the office as employees, cannot buy stock.