Health And Welfare & Safety

[Rennhack]

Can it be that the $35.35 is really $32 plus a $3.35 kick to the H&W fund that you will probably never collect from?

$3.35/hr H&W isn't paid to any fund.  It is paid to the worker based on the first 40 hrs he works.

[Already Gone]

$3.35/hr H&W isn't paid to any fund.  It is paid to the worker based on the first 40 hrs he works.

Are we sure about that?  It reads the opposite to me.  Usually, Health and Welfare is a deduction from pay that goes to a fund for people who get sick and can't work.  Either way, looks like a fat hourly rate that was not negotiated by the NPUA

[Smart People]

Are we sure about that?  It reads the opposite to me.  Usually, Health and Welfare is a deduction from pay that goes to a fund for people who get sick and can't work.  Either way, looks like a fat hourly rate that was not negotiated by the NPUA

Having been there i can tell you that it is paid to the worker if they do not want health insurance. If they do then it goes to the premium.

[Rennhack]

Are we sure about that?  It reads the opposite to me.  Usually, Health and Welfare is a deduction from pay that goes to a fund for people who get sick and can't work.  Either way, looks like a fat hourly rate that was not negotiated by the NPUA

I'm sure.  I've written enough proposals, and worked enough DOE sites to be on both sides of the H&W equation.

[biloxoi blues]

Hey the only people I know work less than RP's are the safety people.  Are there any openings in your organization BeerCourt? I hate working half a twelve hour day much rather work your schedule.  If we can get NPUA to run your organization then I  would really consider applying.

[Already Gone]

Hey the only people I know work less than RP's are the safety people.  Are there any openings in your organization BeerCourt? I hate working half a twelve hour day much rather work your schedule.  If we can get NPUA to run your organization then I  would really consider applying.

Like I have said before, stick to what you know.
There are openings all the time.  I fill them with the best and brightest people I know.
If I haven't approached you yet, don't take it personally.

[Already Gone]

I'm sure.  I've written enough proposals, and worked enough DOE sites to be on both sides of the H&W equation.

Ok.  Makes sense.  But, you must admit that the job posting leaves it up to misinterpretation.  Bottom line is that the job pays $32.00 per hour if you take the insurance and $35.35 if you don't.  That is not the same as $35.35 WITH bennies as some have claimed.  It is more like $35.35 OR bennies.  Still, it is a pretty decent rate of pay and NPUA had not one thing to do with it.

[Already Gone]

This reply is from the Bret LaVinge statement. Couldn't agree with you more! Quotes from that particular person is what runs a lot of people away from this site, To be called things that he calls them and get away with it is amazing. I am one of the ones who has had posts removed before. They were not offensive to anyone and were actually in defense of someone.

Safety person, huh. Never see them after the first day. I spent 10-11 hours a day in containment and they spent 0. I guess all the work was going on at their desk. As for the money that's a bunch of hog wash. I've made their money before and it's nothing to get excited about. As an RP Tech my checks are 5k net every week during an outage.


Mr. Beercourt you spout a lot and try to intimidate people but the truth be told you are a blow hard. What you have to say about the NPUA makes not one bit of difference to me. You need to learn some manners and realize everybody counts, not just you. When you do that perhaps people will return to this site more often. As it stands now people have found alternative ways to stay in touch with the nuclear world other then here.
I realize this is off topic and I will refrain from any further digressions in the future if I visit here again.

Come to think of it, where do you get all of this free time to folllow the posts so closely if you work so hard? It would appear to me you have a lot of free time on your hands.

I wish I could disagree with all of that.  Unfortunately, it is too true in a lot of cases that you can't find a safety guy in containment.  There are times when I can't get them to go anywhere that their golf carts won't go.  Just like RP's, there are people in any profession who will do the work and there are people who won't get off their asses.  I'm not here to defend those who won't do the work.

I don't agree that I am chasing people away from this site.  You're here, aren't you?  And I'll bet that, like me, you don't have any skin in this game at the moment either.  If you are spending 11 hours a day in the can and netting $5k a week, it's probably a good guess that you are a house tech and a member of a union.  That doesn't mean that you have no right to have and express an interest in this thread.  

Even during outage season, I don't work more than 12 or 13 hours a day.  That leaves plenty of time for me to come here and follow the discussion.  I don't find television at the hotel all that enthralling.  Now that summer is here, I get a few more hours to myself.

I haven't called anyone anything that they didn't call me first.  At the time I was called a fat-headed jackass, I could have removed that post with a single mouse click.  I didn't.  A close reading of any thread on Nukeworker will reveal that the best way to ensure your post is not deleted is to insult or disagree with a moderator.  Go read the Censorship of Free Speech thread.  You'll see what I mean.  But the fact that the mods will take all kinds of crap from you doesn't mean that they will let you abuse the other members.  If you were defending someone, and your post was deleted, the post you responding to was probably deleted as well.

Yes, I do give my opinions rather forcefully.  I like a good debate.  Think of me as a sparring partner.  If I have a question or criticism of the NPUA, you can be sure that someone else has a tougher one -- someone who actually matters.  Better to be ready than caught off guard.

[Rennhack]

Ok.  Makes sense.  But, you must admit that the job posting leaves it up to misinterpretation.  Bottom line is that the job pays $32.00 per hour if you take the insurance and $35.35 if you don't.  That is not the same as $35.35 WITH bennies as some have claimed.  It is more like $35.35 OR bennies.  Still, it is a pretty decent rate of pay and NPUA had not one thing to do with it.

Also, it's only paid on the first 40 hours.  Your overtime is not base on the +3.35 rate, it is based on the $32/hr rate ($32*1.5, not 35.35*1.5).

It's not on topic, sorry.  But I just wanted to further clarify how it works.  It's very common in the DOE world.

[Rennhack]

I wish I could disagree with all of that.  Unfortunately, it is too true in a lot of cases that you can't find a safety guy in containment.  There are times when I can't get them to go anywhere that their golf carts won't go.  Just like RP's, there are people in any profession who will do the work and there are people who won't get off their asses.  I'm not here to defend those who won't do the work.

When I work Safety... (And I was a Rad Tech too...) My limited 3 outage experiences are these:

With Shaw/Stone & Webster, as a "Safety Engineer" covering ~1,000 Craft Workers: In the field 75%-80% of the time was the expectation, with the rest of the time used to respond to people's safety concerns, do paperwork on the injuries and on the tests (lead, chromium, asbestos, sound, etc, etc... ), listen to peoples safety concerns and follow up on them, prepare the safety chat for the next shift, and work on the outage safety report.  Many of the ~1,000 craft workers do not work in containment/dry-well.  I was specifically instructed to limit my exposure to radiation, and to limit my inspections in those area to the required limits, and nothing additional.  i.e. Inspect scaffolding if I need to, inspect postings if I need to, confined space, energized equipment, etc, etc.... but no leisure inspections.

Same job, the expectation was that in high risk jobs, we would give 100% coverage, by rotating in several safety people.

I have worked as a "Safety Observer" for Bartlett at DC Cook.  The expectation is also ~80% of your time in the field, and to limit your exposure to radiation.  I would most definitely spend the first week of the outage in containment as people alluded to above, then mostly "disappear" from containment - spending most of my time outside of higher radiation areas, focusing on Aux Building work, and step off pad areas.  The reason is this:  With the constantly changing conditions at the BEGINNING and END of an outage, the risk for a safety injury is at the highest.  It is important that when everything is getting moved in and set up, that everything is set up in a safe configuration.  Once everyone (workers/supervisors/engineers/management, etc) is happy the the plant is in its safest configuration allowable, there is little need for 100% coverage in the radiation area, often a high radiation area.  I don't need to watch an RP at a control point in containment 100% of the time.  Seriously, I don't.  If the location is configured safely, why would I need to be there?

In addition to the beginning and end (if I'm still there at the end), I also go top to bottom in Containment once every FEW days.  I have to admit, I get weird looks, people wondering why a "Safety Guy" is in containment... (Not that he shouldn't be... just that they are not accustomed to seeing it.)  I take a camera from ALARA, and snap pictures of house keeping.  As in the middle of an outage, in containment -- that is the highest risk - it causes slips, trips, and falls.  As well as falling objects.

I know that my reply had not one word about NPUA.  All of the personal attacks on Rad techs, and Safety people, and Troy should be split off to another thread.  If we have any moderators left, please do this for me.

[Rennhack]

If we have any moderators left, please do this for me.

I guess we don't have any left.  I'm going to have to start drafting some protesters.