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Author Topic: End of outages as we know has begun . . .  (Read 77447 times)

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Content1

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #50 on: May 28, 2009, 09:55 »
I have left the commercial industry for a long term job.   I start on June 2.   Yesterday, I heard back from a Bartlett Recruiter that I was accepted at Hanford, but I had to turn it down because I had previously accepted the other job.  I had not heard from Bartlett for 3 weeks so I assume it could take a long time and when another position, a bird in the hand was offered, I took it.  They did not say so in words, but I had a tone with them like I had betrayed them somehow . . . Yet, in the last 6 months, in making maybe $15k, they do not see I would have not had to resort to taking such drastic action as taking a long term job elsewhere.  Even though this job does not have per diem, it is hard to reject $72k/yr. ($34.75/hr) straight time that has full medical benefits that start on the day of hire, not 9 months like with Bartlett. 

I called Bartlett Insurance and asked why there is the 9 month delay in full benefits and was told it was to prevent people with previous medical conditions from coming and using the services until after 9 months, I guess, to have them pay into the system for a while.   Yet, that is not the case with long term jobs.   I am in my 50's and am starting to have health concerns I need  to address, and the 9 month Cobra cost has kept us from getting a medical plan as a traveling tech.   

So I act in my own best interest here and I wonder if in the future will they not try as hard to get me jobs because I acted for my best interest, when they have not been able to provide me the work I need to survive for the last 6 months.

I figure Bartlett is only able to offer what it can offer as part of the supply and demand in our business, I hope they see if we can do better elsewhere to not take it personally.

Offline MeterSwangin

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #51 on: Jun 01, 2009, 01:09 »
Days of long outages not completely gone.  Take a look at the SGR outages this fall.........

Content1

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #52 on: Jun 01, 2009, 02:21 »
With so many going to DOE, will they get desperate and start raising the salary or instead take fewer people and work them to death?   Will the techs that are left get together and hold out for more? 

The problem with SGR's, is 1/2 get laid off 1/2 way through the outage once the SG is replaced.

Offline Marlin

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #53 on: Jun 01, 2009, 09:42 »
With so many going to DOE, will they get desperate and start raising the salary or instead take fewer people and work them to death?   Will the techs that are left get together and hold out for more? 

The problem with SGR's, is 1/2 get laid off 1/2 way through the outage once the SG is replaced.

One of the contract companies here in Oak Ridge raised its pay scale $4 to $5 an hour for RCTs.

IPREGEN

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #54 on: Jun 01, 2009, 12:29 »
I have left the commercial industry for a long term job.   I start on June 2.  yesterday, I heard back from a Bartlett Recruiter that I was accepted at Hanford, but I had to turn it down because I had previously accepted the other job.  I had not heard from Bartlett for 3 weeks so I assume it could take a long time and when another position, a bird in the hand was offered, I took it.  They did not say so in words, but I had a tone with them like I had betrayed them somehow . . . Yet, in the last 6 months, in making maybe $15k, they do not see I would have not had to resort to taking such drastic action as taking a long term job elsewhere.  Even though this job does not have per diem, it is hard to reject $72k/yr. ($34.75/hr) straight time that has full medical benefits that start on the day of hire, not 9 months like with Bartlett. 

I called Bartlett Insurance and asked why there is the 9 month delay in full benefits and was told it was to prevent people with previous medical conditions from coming and using the services until after 9 months, I guess, to have them pay into the system for a while.   Yet, that is not the case with long term jobs.   I am in my 50's and am starting to have health concerns I need  to address, and the 9 month Cobra cost has kept us from getting a medical plan as a traveling tech.   

So I act in my own best interest here and I wonder if in the future will they not try as hard to get me jobs because I acted for my best interest, when they have not been able to provide me the work I need to survive for the last 6 months.

I figure Bartlett is only able to offer what it can offer as part of the supply and demand in our business, I hope they see if we can do better elsewhere to not take it personally.
HIPAA was put in during the Clinton administration. It allowed insurance to be "portable" from one company to another so the long wait for preexisting conditions was eliminated. But, your break in insurance coverage could not be longer then 63 days, go ahead and Goggle "HIPAA" for more details.

Content1

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #55 on: Jun 01, 2009, 03:29 »
The problem has been during the times we have been laid off the cobra was so expensive nobody but a few got it.   Now, from the imaginary money of the stimulus package, we have 9 month with a 65% subsidy for cobra.   

I have not had coverage for years, yet I get coverage at the job I am going to the date of hire.   I guess companies are able to do what they want.  I saw my workplace in the news, and they claim this is the first real fusion process attempted an the NIF facility of the LLNL.  Maybe they will someday make fission reactors obsolete?

Offline SloGlo

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #56 on: Jun 01, 2009, 09:46 »
Maybe they will someday make fission reactors obsolete?

holden yer breath wile weighting four dat two occur will caws ya too turn blue (knot necessarily bartlett nor westinghouse hues) 'n fawl over.    ;)
quando omni flunkus moritati

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Offline namlive

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #57 on: Jun 13, 2009, 07:51 »
Things always change in this industry. I remember when per diem was paid in cash out of a brief case, paying income taxes was unconstitutional, and a secret knock at Indian Point could get you into heaven.
No one gets out alive.

Offline Mike McFarlin

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #58 on: Jun 13, 2009, 08:53 »
Things always change in this industry. I remember when per diem was paid in cash out of a brief case, paying income taxes was unconstitutional, and a secret knock at Indian Point could get you into heaven.
And it wasn't that long ago either!
"Duty is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less." General Robert E. Lee, C.S.A.

Content1

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #59 on: Jun 14, 2009, 12:19 »
Anyone going to Surry for another two week outage?  Millstone promises 3 weeks.  How about limerick?  If you take such short outages, how do you pay your bills?   Another Job outside the industry?  Are these short outages worth the bother?

Offline Mike McFarlin

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #60 on: Jun 15, 2009, 06:00 »
They are way better than unemployment!
"Duty is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less." General Robert E. Lee, C.S.A.

Offline Camella Black

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #61 on: Jun 15, 2009, 09:37 »
So sad. We really missed out didn't we when we failed to go Union (please don't veer off thread, lol)... just think if we had we could file a grievance cause of lost bennies such as the keggers, pot parties, diem under the table, rent a cars, etc... we like many of the new professionals woke up a lonnng time ago and came into a brand new world.

Chimera

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #62 on: Jun 15, 2009, 12:22 »
Anyone going to Surry for another two week outage?  Millstone promises 3 weeks.  How about limerick?  If you take such short outages, how do you pay your bills?   Another Job outside the industry?  Are these short outages worth the bother?

When I started doing this Road Tech thingie, my average outage was about three weeks.  We did six to eight outages a year and had no problem achieving our goal of working half a year and making a year's pay.  Of course, back then the pay rate was $5/hr and perdiem was $30/day.

Looks like you may have to stir off your butt and travel a little more (the "road" part of road tech) and stop relying on the utilities to schedule long outages so you don't have to pack as often.  Of course, you could always take of those DOE jobs.  Then you wouldn't have to travel for the whole year.

Ron102nj

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #63 on: Jul 18, 2009, 12:43 »
Here is the main reason!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Supervisors and Foremen are SUPPOSED to follow every single procedure in their packages. One perfect instance is when we pull cable in cable tray our foreman told us NOT to tie-wrap them to the tray. Do you have any idea how long cable trays are in a plant?????  MILES.
QUALS: Just about every plant, you need to be QUAL'd to even got to the bathroom. I am now at PEACH BOTTOM and am working with men that just snub their nose  at the quals. 

Offline fueldryer

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #64 on: Jul 18, 2009, 02:00 »
Here is the main reason!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Supervisors and Foremen are SUPPOSED to follow every single procedure in their packages. One perfect instance is when we pull cable in cable tray our foreman told us NOT to tie-wrap them to the tray. Do you have any idea how long cable trays are in a plant?????  MILES.
QUALS: Just about every plant, you need to be QUAL'd to even got to the bathroom. I am now at PEACH BOTTOM and am working with men that just snub their nose  at the quals. 
I thought everyone had to follow procedures at every plant? Things must be different at the Peach. Sounds like you may have had trouble getting that "bathroom" qual.....
Call Before You Dig!

Offline roadhp

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #65 on: Jul 18, 2009, 09:14 »
Here is the main reason!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Supervisors and Foremen are SUPPOSED to follow every single procedure in their packages. One perfect instance is when we pull cable in cable tray our foreman told us NOT to tie-wrap them to the tray. Do you have any idea how long cable trays are in a plant?????  MILES.
QUALS: Just about every plant, you need to be QUAL'd to even got to the bathroom. I am now at PEACH BOTTOM and am working with men that just snub their nose  at the quals. 

If a work package says to tie wrap the cables to the cable tray and you don't, then it is on you.  If a supervisor tells you not to, he better have an approved deviation from the work package to give you telling you not to or it is still on you.  Rule #1 is verbatim compliance, at Peach and every where else in this business.  Rule #2 is don't trust rule #1 to be right, question anything that doesn't pass the gut test.  If you don't follow the work package, and the NRC or INPO or even the QA guy who is doing a final inspection for the job finds it, you are going to be in the same room as your supervisor explaining why, so you might want to question that call.  As far as quals, there are quals for everything everywhere, and I know at Peach we had to check our quals every day and sign a paper saying we did before we went to work that day.
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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #66 on: Jul 19, 2009, 08:18 »
When I started doing this Road Tech thingie, my average outage was about three weeks.  We did six to eight outages a year and had no problem achieving our goal of working half a year and making a year's pay.  Of course, back then the pay rate was $5/hr and perdiem was $30/day.
den da gurl frenns got inn two da pickture by making thangs moor comfortable by getting apartments.  soon, tex didn't wanna due short outages 'n live inn ins 'n motels. purty soon, day woodent take enny job shorter dan six months oar else da security deposit wood bee lost, sew utilititties started skeduling long outage too keep da hp's happy.  butt affter a cupla decades oar so uff dis type of lost income to da deep pockit utilititty groups, da been counters started insisting on trimming outages to applicubull work 'n started to get closer times between breaker open 'n breaker closed (dis had nutting two due wit da demise of c.b. radio) 'n now da outages are bak two thee weaks. 
da circle is cumpleat.
 ;)
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Content1

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #67 on: Jul 20, 2009, 03:15 »
They are way better than unemployment!
unemployment eventually runs out, and about 2/3 of those who started in massive layoffs are finding out.  I received replies "we should kiss the ground that we have work", yet, I made a little over $13,000 gross as a senior in my ridiculously short season, enough to drive me to a permanent RCT job.  I am amazed people are still filling the slots at Surry and others, the pay has not changed in many places.   Are we becoming so numb to this situation that it doesn't bother anyone?   Is nuke work going the way of a hobby?   I don't think a union will work if the workers roll over so easily.  Senior HP are a dying breed (literally) that is not being replaced by the industry, and I don't know why someone would go to 2 years of college for a part-time (effectively) job. 

Offline Brett LaVigne

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #68 on: Jul 22, 2009, 06:55 »
Right now is the best time to be an RP that I can remember. The one thing people have to keep in mind about wanting to get into this industry is that you have to be flexible and willing to travel. I never really care where I work geographically and have never understood those who put so much importance on it. If I am working at DC Cook (the closest plant to me that I have worked) I am 2 1/2 hours from home. On 72's I rarely make the drive. Being willing to work coast to coast makes it a lot easier to put together a reasonable amount of weeks during the year. I figure that if I am 3 hours from home or 36 hours from home, I'm not going home. In an emergency, I can be home from nearly anywhere in the country inside of 12 hours if I really needed to be. So I might as well go where the money is. The last 3 years have been the best years I have ever had being a road tech. Now, I decided to jump on a long term decom job. My wife, daughter and I left our house in Michigan, and all of our family to work in California for a few years. It sucks, but it is part of being a rent-a-tech and we accept that.

Short outages can be good and bad. It's hard to line a bunch of them up if you only are willing to work in a certain region or two. If you are willing to go where ever, it becomes easier. I would much rather line up 3 3-5 week outages in a season over one longer one any time. I like the travel and the change of location.

I think it is also worth mentioning that your network is probably your most important tool in finding enough work. Every single good deal I have ever had in this industry was because I knew someone that had an "in" and was willing to say something nice about me. It pays to do a good job and...be a social butterfly so to speak.
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IPREGEN

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #69 on: Jul 27, 2009, 02:08 »
Right now is the best time to be an RP that I can remember.
It's great that you feel that way, but it shows that your time in the business has been short compared to some on this forum. Step into the way-back machine and it was a time of unlimited outage length and unlimited options on where to work. You could take time off and go right back to the same plant. Many stations had 30-40 contractors all the time even when operating. You could get tired of a place, leave and be somewhere new on Monday. In the words of the famous Benny Kiman, "I don't need this job, I have $3 in the bank and I can start anywhere tomorrow and get a per diem check just for showing up."  The jobs were not about the money, because the money was always there.

Offline let-it-ride

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #70 on: Jul 27, 2009, 03:20 »
Well said IPREGEN. How true. Yea Benny was something else.  8)

Offline MeterSwangin

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #71 on: Jul 27, 2009, 10:05 »
Geeze, Brett. 

Regarding excesses of the past leading to the impending obsolescence of the road tech....

After what these guys added...

I rest my case. 

Peace, bro

Content1

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #72 on: Jul 28, 2009, 09:46 »
Since I went house I am amazed by the email I am getting from headhunter sites needing Sr. HP's.  After my enriching $13,000 I made in the Spring they wonder why many of us left.  Had I stayed a road tech with one more such profitable season the only place I was destined for was the the Bankruptcy court.  When you burn us badly and unexpectedly and we find what we want elsewhere, the headhunters should not be surprised we act in our own self-interest, just like they do.  Maybe someday I may come back for a short outage using my accumulating vacation time to double dip the system, a working vacation so to speak. 

May nothing has changed in the business, everyone just needs to look out for #1 and move on, like I have.   The only bright spot is I hear Bartlett is setting it up so you can go from outage to DOE to outage.  The only problem with that idea is you may never be home to establish the base for per diem.   Lost like the guy in Quantum Leap, hoping his next job will bring him home.

Offline Dave Warren

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #73 on: Jul 28, 2009, 11:29 »
Quite honestly, the true outage Rad Tech is a dying, if not dead, breed.

Alot of people have supplemented their income by doing something else in addition to Teching.

90% of the people that I worked with when I first started in 87' are either House Techs, not swinging a meter anymore, dead or retired.

Unless you enjoy living the life of a nomad, you become slightly jaded at the industry and with the divorce / breakup rate in our industry, people feel it isn't really worth it to make twice as much money, 2000 miles from home, to risk their relationship with their significant other and their kids and family.

As I have always maintained, the life of a Rad Tech is for the single man.

A little tip for those of you want to get out of the outage scene: Put your resume on Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com and Yahoojobs.com. I did 2 years ago and have gotten some of the best, highest paying, and most rewarding jobs I have ever had. I haven't swung a meter since 2006 and don't ever plan on going back to it, God willing.

vikingfan

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Re: End of outages as we know has begun . . .
« Reply #74 on: Jul 28, 2009, 01:29 »
only 13 thousand ?? who did you piss off ? well hopefully your in a better situation now. best of luck to you.

 


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