time is right for a union

[popdaddy]

UNITED WE STAND,DIVIDED WE BEG.... NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL PEOPLE IN THIS BUSINESS TO FORM A UNION. IT'S IN OUR BEST INTEREST TO DO THIS.BEING AND OLD TIMER IN THIS INDUSTRY I WISH THE HP'S,DECONNERS ECT.. WOULD HAVE FORM THIS A YEARS AGO WHEN WE WERE PAID DESENT WAGES BUT NOW VALVE TECHS,CARPENTERS AND EVEN SOME FIREWATCHS MAKE MORE THAN US.WE HAVE NO PENSION,VACATION PAY,HEALTH INSURANCE JUST LOWER WAGES.THE REASON BEING THAT WE ARE AFRAID OF THE BARTLETT'S,ATLANTIC AND ALL THE REST.THIS IS THE TIME TO STRIKE AND HOLDOUT FOR ONE HAVE ANYONE SEEN THE AMOUNT OF WORK COMING AVAILIBLE.

[Marlin]

Please adhere to this Forums rules, rule # eight is:

8. DON'T TYPE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, IT IS THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF SHOUTING AT PEOPLE.

http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,4700.0.html

[hatrai07]

It will never happen, period.  I was one of the leaders for the "action' in 1989. I made a promise to myself then that I would never swing a meter again if we were not successful.  We weren't and I haven't.  Didn't leave the business, just went in other directions within the business.  Best thing that ever happened to me.  Since then I have had more fulfilling positions, improved my skills and abilities and more importantly ( to most people) made a lot more money. Have made north of $100/hr many times and have never worked for less than $50/hr ( currently @ $90/hr).  There is one exception, post strike, I took a job as a decon tech making $8.50/hr because I was going to stick to my word to never work alongside my 'brothers' again.  I used this time to prepare for life after RP. If you want more, you too should prepare for life after RP.  If you love the job too much to leave it, then don't but you will never change it.

[Khak-Hater]

I thought the whole idea of being a contractor in this business was to get as much money for your individual services as the market would bear.  A union seems contrary to this concept.  Maybe you don't want to be a contractor?  Besides, remember the story that Jesus told about the grape pickers.  I can just see Jesus getting slapped with a grievance because he paid the dudes who came later a higher hourly wage.  If you're happy with the pay that you agreed to, then be happy with the job.  If not, find another one. 

If you think that the problem lies with the contractor companies (e.g., Bartlett), then, rather than forming a union, form your own company and offer the workers a better cut or benefits package [I have a friend that successfully did this in the DOE realm].  If what you propose is viable, then you'll succeed and make things better for everyone.  If not, then you'll fail, and, in doing so, find out that the system works just as it should. 

Good luck,

mgm

[Already Gone]

Back to the subject, the time has always been right for some kind of change - union or otherwise.

The question that comes up lately is, "what union?"

IBEW didn't give much help 18 years ago, which is why I didn't walk with my coworkers.  But, I did support unionizing my plant when I was a house tech.  It didn't work either.

Today, there is an organization that calls itself a union circulating some literature.  They call for you to walk out or hold out and work only for one company.  This organization has not ties whatsoever to the recognized labor organizations.  To me, it looks like a "back-door" strategy to push this one company into the place of Bartlett and Atlantic.

Notably absent in their literature is any mention of benefits, dues, training, or any of the other things offered or required by a union.  All they promis is that you will get more per hour and GSA per diem if you work for a particular company.

Smells fishy to me.  The same strategy failed a few years ago when a particular company implored RP's to hold out so that Bartlett and Numanco, et. al. would be unable to staff.  Then, he figured to swoop in with the hold-outs at higher pay and per diem.  He is a decent guy with his heart in the right place but the whole strategy was just plain dishonest and could have hurt some folks financially.

The current version seems even more under-handed and I wouldn't go there if I were you.

Just my $.02.

Bud has a point, though.  He's doing alright where he is.

Khak-Hater, you are correct that getting as much as you can as quickly as you can is a good thing, but that is just not happening in the current environment.  Union Laborers have a much better package than contract RP's.  You also have to consider the value of things like health insurance, annuities, pensions, and training that are provided by unions when you are tallying up the financial gain that you expect from working.  But, maybe President Obama will give those things to the techs and they won't need to get them from their employers or unions.

[SloGlo]

popdaddy....
yinz wanna union?  meet with yer differant unions 'n finger out witch won will work for ya.  git support in writing.  git a local together.  den come bak in hear with watt ya got. 
aye ain't bean hard frivollusly.  butt, dere has bin many threads about union forming here.  dint due no good.  bin a cupla union forming actions in da market place.  dint do know good. 
ya wanna do good 'n git a union?  git one. 
then git it filled.
eye no it's a different weigh two do this.  alla udder ways didn't work.
time to go outside da box.

[retired nuke]

not confused,...just a nub,....

dam! it felt good to say that!!!!!!, in a sick, sorta wrong, but strangely satisfying way,...

heheheheheheh,....

Dang, gotta wait till tomorrow to you for that one....

[jjordan]

Oh boy here we go again! I'm prepared to take some more lumps! The IBEW would be the logical choice here, for several reasons. The most important is support. The are already established, and represent about two thirds of the utility HP's. That's a great support network. They have the neccesary financing to support an organizing campaign. This will be very costly, and I'm speaking from experience. There were previous threads addressing this subject, and polls that I started. Roughly half are for, and half against. You need a much larger percentage for this to happen. Lots of the head hunters really don't care if you are union or not. If you get a colective barganing unit, and negotiate higher wages, do you think they will absorb this out of their margin of profit? Not hardly, the utilities will have to pony up, as they should! Who do you think is responsible for the short outages, decreased hours early layoff, etc. Contractor companies don't make a dime if you aren't working, and most contacts they probably make a percentage of your wages. !0% of $35.00, is better than 10% of $23.00 about what you currently make. A good contractor is worth more than your average house tech. Thats me. I don't have a dog in this fight, so remember that when you take your cheap shots! I think I can handle them though! I've walked in your shoes and feel your pain. I also see the opportuity that you have and find it very difficult to believe that it hasn't happened already. I work at a non union plant, and I flat out make at least $10.00/ hr more than you, if not closer to $15.00. I have benefits, you have a few, but nowhere near as good. The union plants almost all do even better. The main reason I make the wages I make is because of my union brothers. If my utility doesn't remain competitive with the other utilities, everyone will leave for better wages elswhere. The whole key to making this whole thing work is the definition of the word union. In this context it means together, there is strength in numbers. You all have to hang together. You can't negotiate a better package by yourselves, or you would have already done that, and I wouldn't be posting this here right now! Wake up!!! Get a little bit of control of your own destiny. You all deserve it, go get it!
JJ

[Already Gone]

I agree with your sentiment JJ.  But I strongly disagree with the idea that the IBEW being the house union for most utilities and having more resources makes them the union of choice.  Those things were true in 1989, and they gave very little toward the effort.  House techs mostly stayed out of it, and there woas no organization to their organizing.  They'd all be better off talking to the Teamsters, Carpenters, or Laborers.

[namlive]

The first thing that would have to happen is the Employee Free Choice Act would have to pass congress. Arlen Specter, who was against the bill has swapped parties. Ironically, if he wants to get elected as a Democrat he will have to support the bill or die in the primary. If I was serious about a union, I would be mounting a letter (e-mail etc.) campaign aimed at Specter.

Once it is just a matter of signing cards, it should be easy. What is important is that we learn from the mistakes made by the IBEW years ago and move forward.

[jjordan]

Beercourt,
I'm amamber of the Laborers local #833, have been since 1975. I don't believe they would be the right choice. I'm one of them and am eternaly gratefull to them, but don't believe they could pull it of. I was the union steward back when we had the so called IBEW walkout in the 90's We didn't walk because we were union. They took our dues, and didn't even furnish me with a working phone number. I had to go it alone. Not sure about the teamsters either, they have issues. The IBEW freely admit that the campaingn was botched, The problem was that the people that formed the VOC (Volunteer Organizing comitee) were very loosley supervised. They took it upon themselves to call for the walkout. The IBEW only uses or condones a walkout as a last resort. We had just started negotiating when they pulled this stunt. I went to some of the meetings at BV. The VOC ended up being a bunch of self serving B__tards that thought that they could secure some cushy union posiitions and not have to swing a meter again. This stunt has cost us dearly, but there is a lesson to be learned here. Your union is only as good as your elected officials. This is where unions get a bad rap. The wrong people get incontrol, and that's every bit as bad maybe worse than bad management. You can't let that happen, and if it does, you have to correct it by voting them back out. I believe that the other union soliciting support are just what I described. The are self appointed and want the power and control at the members expense. The IBEW is interested in the contractors and have been observing things here. They don't want to invest millions, yes millions in a loosing campaign. There isn'y enough support to warrantt the expenditure. They do represent 2/3rds of the house techs. They didn't play a role the last time because we self destructed long before the IBEW could call on them for support! Thet will help, I would help if I could, but there isn't a strong enough backing to pull this off. You'll have to go hungry for a good while longer before you all stop stabbing each other and cuttingg each others throats and learn to work together for a common goal. If ther is interest I will help. I know who to call and will help withthe organizing, and like i said, I don't have a dog in this fight, so I have nothing to gain here. A lot of the contractors know me and should trust me. I'm noyt hiding, my handle is my name. If you think that thees posts go unnoticed you are sorely mistaken. They are avidly read by all of the utilities. i have been rewarded for some post, but have paid a price for my pro unionn stance!!!
Thanks,
JJ

[MR BIG]

Beercourt,
I'm amamber of the Laborers local #833, have been since 1975. I don't believe they would be the right choice. I'm one of them and am eternaly gratefull to them, but don't believe they could pull it of. I was the union steward back when we had the so called IBEW walkout in the 90's We didn't walk because we were union. They took our dues, and didn't even furnish me with a working phone number. I had to go it alone. Not sure about the teamsters either, they have issues. The IBEW freely admit that the campaingn was botched, The problem was that the people that formed the VOC (Volunteer Organizing comitee) were very loosley supervised. They took it upon themselves to call for the walkout. The IBEW only uses or condones a walkout as a last resort. We had just started negotiating when they pulled this stunt. I went to some of the meetings at BV. The VOC ended up being a bunch of self serving B__tards that thought that they could secure some cushy union posiitions and not have to swing a meter again. This stunt has cost us dearly, but there is a lesson to be learned here. Your union is only as good as your elected officials. This is where unions get a bad rap. The wrong people get incontrol, and that's every bit as bad maybe worse than bad management. You can't let that happen, and if it does, you have to correct it by voting them back out. I believe that the other union soliciting support are just what I described. The are self appointed and want the power and control at the members expense. The IBEW is interested in the contractors and have been observing things here. They don't want to invest millions, yes millions in a loosing campaign. There isn'y enough support to warrantt the expenditure. They do represent 2/3rds of the house techs. They didn't play a role the last time because we self destructed long before the IBEW could call on them for support! Thet will help, I would help if I could, but there isn't a strong enough backing to pull this off. You'll have to go hungry for a good while longer before you all stop stabbing each other and cuttingg each others throats and learn to work together for a common goal. If ther is interest I will help. I know who to call and will help withthe organizing, and like i said, I don't have a dog in this fight, so I have nothing to gain here. A lot of the contractors know me and should trust me. I'm noyt hiding, my handle is my name. If you think that thees posts go unnoticed you are sorely mistaken. They are avidly read by all of the utilities. i have been rewarded for some post, but have paid a price for my pro unionn stance!!!
Thanks,
JJ

Thank you for your honesty. But just like this site has done in the past. I get booted off and my post doesn't even get looked at. Well, maybe it did. And that's why it's not on here.
I don't know why I'm even writing this? They won't post it! Rennhack, PM me and I will fill you in and ask you "Why do you allow people to delete posts in an OPEN forum". And it's NOT off topic. Need a better answer.

[btkeele]

First off, I am not against a union, I walked out at Trojan....
But, I am 100% against the "employee free choice act" as it is taking away
secret ballots which will lead to coercion and intimidation by current union
members and organizers.  The bottom line is everyone is free right now to
make their choice.....

[Already Gone]

JJ, all I can say to your post is "right-on!"  I am in the same position - nothing to gain or lose either way - but I still care about the techs out there who are struggling to get by on less and less each year.  When everything was going good, I didn't need a union.  When the company started taking things away, I realized that it was already too late and I had missed the point of having a union to back me.
I really hope that the old gang of mine can get their act together for their own good.
But, I strongly caution them against falling for someone who is out to exploit them under the guise of helping them.

As far as the EFCA goes, don't fall for the spin that is coming from either side.  I'd have to read it more carefully before giving an opinion, but I won't let the hype, fear-mongering, or self-serving arguments of either party sway me.  It is better to form an informed opinion than to buy into someone else's.  All I know is that the intimidation and coercion comes from the company side too.  How else do you explain instances where 80% of the workforce signs cards and the election results in the union being voted down?  The organizers and the union busters are both players in the same game, and neither of them has any personal stake in your family's future.

Get the facts.  Form your own opinion.  Vote for what is best for you.

[UncaBuffalo]

Beercourt,
I'm amamber of the Laborers local #833, have been since 1975. I don't believe they would be the right choice. I'm one of them and am eternaly gratefull to them, but don't believe they could pull it of. I was the union steward back when we had the so called IBEW walkout in the 90's We didn't walk because we were union. They took our dues, and didn't even furnish me with a working phone number. I had to go it alone. Not sure about the teamsters either, they have issues. The IBEW freely admit that the campaingn was botched, The problem was that the people that formed the VOC (Volunteer Organizing comitee) were very loosley supervised. They took it upon themselves to call for the walkout. The IBEW only uses or condones a walkout as a last resort. We had just started negotiating when they pulled this stunt. I went to some of the meetings at BV. The VOC ended up being a bunch of self serving B__tards that thought that they could secure some cushy union posiitions and not have to swing a meter again. This stunt has cost us dearly, but there is a lesson to be learned here. Your union is only as good as your elected officials. This is where unions get a bad rap. The wrong people get incontrol, and that's every bit as bad maybe worse than bad management. You can't let that happen, and if it does, you have to correct it by voting them back out. I believe that the other union soliciting support are just what I described. The are self appointed and want the power and control at the members expense. The IBEW is interested in the contractors and have been observing things here. They don't want to invest millions, yes millions in a loosing campaign. There isn'y enough support to warrantt the expenditure. They do represent 2/3rds of the house techs. They didn't play a role the last time because we self destructed long before the IBEW could call on them for support! Thet will help, I would help if I could, but there isn't a strong enough backing to pull this off. You'll have to go hungry for a good while longer before you all stop stabbing each other and cuttingg each others throats and learn to work together for a common goal. If ther is interest I will help. I know who to call and will help withthe organizing, and like i said, I don't have a dog in this fight, so I have nothing to gain here. A lot of the contractors know me and should trust me. I'm noyt hiding, my handle is my name. If you think that thees posts go unnoticed you are sorely mistaken. They are avidly read by all of the utilities. i have been rewarded for some post, but have paid a price for my pro unionn stance!!!
Thanks,
JJ

I have to throw a flag on the sweeping generalization you make about the VOC.  You may have been right about some of them, but the one I knew was & is a great guy and a straight shooter. Things obviously didn't work out the way we wanted, but that doesn't mean that anyone was doing anything underhanded.

[jjack50]

I have to throw a flag on the sweeping generalization you make about the VOC.  You may have been right about some of them, but the one I knew was & is a great guy and a straight shooter. Things obviously didn't work out the way we wanted, but that doesn't mean that anyone was doing anything underhanded.

Whether anyone was doing something underhanded or not they were sure not-competent in how they went about it. I was a contractor at the time and remember how sudddenly the walkout was called and the last minute expansion to go out against all of the "Bartlett" plants.
Most of us at Trojan at the time went out. Supposedly Bartlett offered to sign a contract with the IBEW for RP services at Trojan only initially and that was rejected by the IBEW. I don't know for sure that was true.
There was strong support from the plant RP techs and plant management (as much as they could considering they were not really a party to the negotiations). No one was fired or not allowed back in after we 'caved'. We DID get more money. The operation just fell apart after that.
The IBEW rep didn't seem to have many suggestions or much guidance for us. That's just how I saw it.
There WERE too many 'egos'  involved. It should have been a business situation and done in a business-like manner. I didn't see that. And just because we failed that spring we should not have stopped trying. But we did stop and here we are now.
The RP techs have the leverage if they can organize and use it.

[btkeele]

Whether anyone was doing something underhanded or not they were sure not-competent in how they went about it. I was a contractor at the time and remember how sudddenly the walkout was called and the last minute expansion to go out against all of the "Bartlett" plants.
Most of us at Trojan at the time went out. Supposedly Bartlett offered to sign a contract with the IBEW for RP services at Trojan only initially and that was rejected by the IBEW. I don't know for sure that was true.
There was strong support from the plant RP techs and plant management (as much as they could considering they were not really a party to the negotiations). No one was fired or not allowed back in after we 'caved'. We DID get more money. The operation just fell apart after that.
The IBEW rep didn't seem to have many suggestions or much guidance for us. That's just how I saw it.
There WERE too many 'egos'  involved. I should have been a business situation and done in a business-like manner. I didn't see that. And just because we failed that spring we should not have stopped trying. But we did stop and here we are now.
The RP techs have the leverage if they can organize and use it.

You are exactly right on most of these points, especially about the lack of clear guidance, or any for that matter, most of us had no idea what we were doing, that is why we went back in.....
There were some job's lost shortly afterward though, they eliminated some Jr HP spots....

This fall should be interesting with all the outages over-lapping and with the new working hour limitations
(still a lot of confusion about this)....

[Rennhack]

This fall should be interesting with all the outages over-lapping and with the new working hour limitations
(still a lot of confusion about this)....

Don't forget the fact that the DOE is sucking up hundreds of RCT's.

[justme]

Back to the subject, the time has always been right for some kind of change - union or otherwise.

The question that comes up lately is, "what union?"

IBEW didn't give much help 18 years ago, which is why I didn't walk with my coworkers.  But, I did support unionizing my plant when I was a house tech.  It didn't work either.

Today, there is an organization that calls itself a union circulating some literature.  They call for you to walk out or hold out and work only for one company.  This organization has not ties whatsoever to the recognized labor organizations.  To me, it looks like a "back-door" strategy to push this one company into the place of Bartlett and Atlantic.

Notably absent in their literature is any mention of benefits, dues, training, or any of the other things offered or required by a union.  All they promis is that you will get more per hour and GSA per diem if you work for a particular company.

Smells fishy to me.  The same strategy failed a few years ago when a particular company implored RP's to hold out so that Bartlett and Numanco, et. al. would be unable to staff.  Then, he figured to swoop in with the hold-outs at higher pay and per diem.  He is a decent guy with his heart in the right place but the whole strategy was just plain dishonest and could have hurt some folks financially.

The current version seems even more under-handed and I wouldn't go there if I were you.

Just my $.02.

Bud has a point, though.  He's doing alright where he is.

Khak-Hater, you are correct that getting as much as you can as quickly as you can is a good thing, but that is just not happening in the current environment.  Union Laborers have a much better package than contract RP's.  You also have to consider the value of things like health insurance, annuities, pensions, and training that are provided by unions when you are tallying up the financial gain that you expect from working.  But, maybe President Obama will give those things to the techs and they won't need to get them from their employers or unions.

Dues are $40/ month when not working, somewhere around 110+/ month when working (They are roughly basing dues on what people paid At Diablo last outage - this  is based on straight time and overtime (this was for contractors only, house dues were based on straight time only) ).   This gets you roughly $5/hour more when working for the specified new company (if they have contracts).  Still no other benefits mentioned.

You also are on a hiring or senority list.  Your place on the list depends on when you start paying dues to the organization.  Not sure what the dues will pay for in addition to the organizers salaries.

[Already Gone]

The question remains, what about benefits, retirement, legal fund, contract negotiations with other companies, training, ... etc., etc., etc.?
What about the union affiliations?  Are they AFL-CIO?  Are they independent?  What legal standing would its members have under the FLSA?
WHAT RELATIONSHIP EXISTS BETWEEN THE LEADERSHIP OF THIS "UNION" AND THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS PARTICULAR COMPANY?  I know I'm shouting, but I mean to emphasize the importance of this particular point.  If the union and the management are husband and wife, it ain't no union, it's a rip-off.

[SloGlo]

If the union and the management are husband and wife, it ain't no union, it's a rip-off.

$40 to git unemployement 'n $110 a month four 'n exta $5/our.... ain't really a rip off, moor like a kick back.

[nowhereman]

oh no, here we go again...
imho..most legitimate unions have a bona fide training program, bona fide apprentice hours/ training system(somethings got to change, the bartlett/utility version of throwing some procedures at some dedicated deconners doesn't seem to be working well. How many times do I hear, we don't need any theory to do this job?)....(too many)

Then the argument of the various community colleges have their associates in nuculear engineering.....well thats just the pipeline to fill the attrition  spots from the utilities.
who is going to spend time and effort to get an associates, and then take the crap that bartlett offers the junior hp's?

until the process is legitimatized, then we may have a chance at stabilizing our wages, otherwise it will be so called putting the cart before the horse....in other words, what i have seen about this union is a waste of time....

[RTRT]

I was at Mcguire during the last so called organization attempt. A regional director of the IBEW came to talk to us. He held up a copy of the contract and said that they had sent it to all the contractor companies but none had signed it. He handed the single copy to us in the room to see. When we started going through it and taking notes from it he took it away from us. He then told us that it couldn't get in the wrong hands. Since they had already sent it to all the contractor companies, the "wrong" hands must have been ours. They also gave us a "hotline" phone number to call to check on the strike nationwide. We called the number and the first thing they wanted to know is what plant we were at. After that they started talking about percentages of people walking at other plants. We wrote it all down and split up the list amongst us depending on where we knew people to be working. At least 75% of what they told us was pure fiction. We called friends at plants that were supposed to be walking 100% and found that their first meeting was coming up in couple of days. I had a low opinion of the IBEW from working in house at Hanford and dealing with them that time sealed the deal to stay away from them. All they want is YOUR MONEY.

[SloGlo]

I was at Mcguire during the last so called organization attempt.

i wuz at besse during da walk of da 90s.  we where under union contract and sew coodent go out.  i called all the national tv news every night during the main part of the walk out.... nbc, cbs, abc, cnn, ett set terra.  no won in any of those national news rooms had da slightest idea a national local union had called a strike.  i wood give da local 1500 800phonenumber to them.  thay never had a story on the air about that strike. 

[MR BIG]

Back to the subject, the time has always been right for some kind of change - union or otherwise.

The question that comes up lately is, "what union?"

IBEW didn't give much help 18 years ago, which is why I didn't walk with my coworkers.  But, I did support unionizing my plant when I was a house tech.  It didn't work either.

Today, there is an organization that calls itself a union circulating some literature.  They call for you to walk out or hold out and work only for one company.  This organization has not ties whatsoever to the recognized labor organizations.  To me, it looks like a "back-door" strategy to push this one company into the place of Bartlett and Atlantic.

Notably absent in their literature is any mention of benefits, dues, training, or any of the other things offered or required by a union.  All they promis is that you will get more per hour and GSA per diem if you work for a particular company.

Smells fishy to me.  The same strategy failed a few years ago when a particular company implored RP's to hold out so that Bartlett and Numanco, et. al. would be unable to staff.  Then, he figured to swoop in with the hold-outs at higher pay and per diem.  He is a decent guy with his heart in the right place but the whole strategy was just plain dishonest and could have hurt some folks financially.

The current version seems even more under-handed and I wouldn't go there if I were you.

Just my $.02.

Bud has a point, though.  He's doing alright where he is.

Khak-Hater, you are correct that getting as much as you can as quickly as you can is a good thing, but that is just not happening in the current environment.  Union Laborers have a much better package than contract RP's.  You also have to consider the value of things like health insurance, annuities, pensions, and training that are provided by unions when you are tallying up the financial gain that you expect from working.  But, maybe President Obama will give those things to the techs and they won't need to get them from their employers or unions.

I'll respond to this in the best way I know without offending anyone. To start with, my Dad always taught me not to open my mouth until I got ALL the facts. Pretty good advice he gave me. So I would say to you Beercourt or anybody else on here that SEEMS like they know it all and has everything & everyone "figured out", to GET THE FACTS! Has anyone actually called to talk to the people behind this? Have you researched the website? Have you asked any questions without forming your OWN answers? My guess would be a big NO!

It really gets me when people try and form opinions and they don't even take the time nor have the decency to check out the facts. I, for one have. And I have found out that these people are actually trying to do something for us. They aren't anti-Bartlett or anti-Atlantic, or anti anyone. They are just trying to do what Bartlett, Atlantic or for that matter anyone else, has failed to do for the last 20 years. And that is to get these utilities attention about RP & Deconners compensation. Every other trade (craft) in nuclear has kept up with pay increases, benefits and travel except us. For me, I don't care whom I work for, as long as they are actively trying to get me the best deal for my services, or at least industry wide compensation. But they don't seem to want to do that. If we continue to accept compensation at these levels, we don't have any right to whine about it. But it's really sad to hear these comments. Go back and read through some of these. My Lord! You all have a defeatist (negative) attitude about everything. What are you so suspicious about? You keep talking about what happened 20 years ago! Get over it folks. Move on and get a life. Maybe people didn't organize it properly back then. Then is then. Now is now.

At least these folks are trying to do SOMETHING. And for you suspicious characters out there that say that..... all they want to do is take your money and sit on their butts, here are the facts. I know these people have been working on this every waking moment for the last 2 years doing research, talking to unions, attorneys, industry wide contacts and getting what they need to address ALL of the concerns I keep hearing being brought up in this forum. If you would just contact them direct, they would answer those concerns. Why would you be so negative & suspicious about being taken advantage of? Is that because it is the way you would do it? These people are solid and honest. In fact they would probably be upset for me sharing this, but they have also invested well over $30,000 of their own capital to get this off the ground. And we got these suspicious intelligent people out here that holler about $40 a month. We were paying $112 a month at Diablo and out of 120 techs didn't hear 1 complaint about monthly dues!!!

Why should anyone care about what the people behind this are making? Does anyone ask what the Bartlett principals make? How about Atlantic people? Or Entergy folks? I for one could care less what they make. As long as they put more money in my pocket, more power to them. They make $100,000 a year and they put $40,000 extra a year in my pocket, you darn right they deserve it! Gosh, folks you guys can't see the trees because of the forest!

Sorry for being so long. But this is my career. Everyone has the right to support a cause or not support it. But please, for the sake of all us techs out here, get all the facts before you go around shouting your opinions to everyone. Let me add one more thing. NO, I am NOT affiliated in any way with being one of the principals of this effort or board member. I am just a road tech for 31 years that is tired of having these utilities think our profession is less important than the rest of the craft/trades that come to their outages. At least this organization is trying to change that. I fully support that and hope & pray that many others will check it out and get on board with us. This is a great opportunity to come together for once and stop tearing down each other. This site (Nukeworker) was created years ago the help the fellow nuclear worker. Right? Well then, help.....don't hinder. If you truly are out to help the nuclear workers, then get your good ideas and strategies together and let's help each other out!  Why would you want to be negative about a better work environment? It just doesn't make any sense. It also isn't going to be built in a day. No, not all the benefits and advantages this thing will bring us are in place yet. It will take time. Just like anything else worth doing. But it has to start somewhere.

I challenge anyone to contact the NPUA and research the facts. It won't cost you anything. Knowledge truly is power. But a lack of knowledge will cost you everything.

Good Luck to Everyone & God Bless!!!