Nine Mile Point workers on strike

[Already Gone]

First, it is a little bit of a contradiction to say that a nuclear plant is currently unsafe and to bring your family right to the site boundary.

Second, it is a huge stretch to imply that the plant is unsafe because the managers are running it.  The guy who trained you on your job is probably about as good at it as you are.

Third, the backlog might be going down because:
a) There isn't anyone there to add to the backlog
b) Management can cherry-pick whatever low-priority repairs that they choose just to claim that they are clearing items from the list
c) The maintenance backlog might get smaller but the backlog in the training, engineering, licensing ... etc. departments is growing.

The propaganda from both sides is always BS at this point in a strike.  The strike isn't about any of these issues.  It's about how they are going to fund pensions and retiree benefits.
The breaking point is never going to be about who was right and who was wrong.  It's going to be about the fact that they need their employees to run the plant, and the employees need their jobs.  So, it will be settled on who gives in first.  Management can only stand to operate this way for a limited time.  The union employees can go without work for a limited time.  So, who is going to blink first?  How much longer will the company tolerate operating the plant with a sequestered work-force who are not getting their regular jobs done?  How many paychecks can the striking workforce afford to give up in exchange for the pension provisions they are wanting?

A strike sucks for both sides.  Neither side is going to get everything they want.  The only people who will walk away from the wreckage unharmed are the office-dwellers at the Corporate HQ and the office-dwellers at the Union Hall.  For everybody else, try to remember that the people on the other side of the fence are your friends and neighbors.  Try to be civil.

[Fermi2]

I specifically mentioned backlog because it's a bogus claim. The craft is never the reason for the backlog. They'll work whatever you tell them to work and they'll do a great job.

No real work is being done at NiMo. Lets face it, they're doing SIs, and simple PMs and hoping to god the Union comes back before something major breaks.

If their backlog is going down it's because managers are thee longer each day and have more time to manipulate or reclassify in order to drive the numbers down.

[IRLFAN]

First, it is a little bit of a contradiction to say that a nuclear plant is currently unsafe and to bring your family right to the site boundary.

Second, it is a huge stretch to imply that the plant is unsafe because the managers are running it.  The guy who trained you on your job is probably about as good at it as you are.

Third, the backlog might be going down because:
a) There isn't anyone there to add to the backlog

I have to agree with your first point except to add that safety is compromised somewhat by the regular workers not being on the job.

Your second point is BS.  There is no way that the people who trained me is as good at my job as I am.  And even if that were true, there are only two people in our training organization that would come close.  My supervisors would be a total unmitigated disaster trying to do my job.

As far as your third point, just because the regular workers aren't there doesn't mean that equipment is not failing.  If there are insufficient personnel there to identify such failures, wouldn't that suggest that safety is being compromised?

[flblasted]

Your second point is BS.  There is no way that the people who trained me is as good at my job as I am.  And even if that were true, there are only two people in our training organization that would come close.  My supervisors would be a total unmitigated disaster trying to do my job.

I'm curious, what job is it that you do that is so far beyond the ability of your supervisors and those that trained you?

Edit:  I just read what I wrote back to myself and didn't like how asshat that sounded.  I'm curious because I'm trying to think of what would happen if my plant were in the same situation (even if we're non-union) and I personally think we'd be more or less ok in ops (with the exception of violating fatigue rules in a bad way). 

[GLW]

Your second point is BS.  There is no way that the people who trained me is as good at my job as I am.  And even if that were true, there are only two people in our training organization that would come close.  My supervisors would be a total unmitigated disaster trying to do my job.

I'm thinking about this as I live about 40 miles downwind of your plant.

Competent, safe, operation of your plant seems to ride on the shoulders of one man,....you.

There might be two others who come close to being able to running that place competently.

And from your past posts I already know you're not a janitor,...

Without you three on station, whatever job it is you guys do to keep the rest of us safe from nuclear power would be accomplished at the competence level of an unmitigated disaster.

Now that's a paradox,...

I'm just saying,...

[Already Gone]

I specifically mentioned backlog because it's a bogus claim. The craft is never the reason for the backlog. They'll work whatever you tell them to work and they'll do a great job.

No real work is being done at NiMo. Lets face it, they're doing SIs, and simple PMs and hoping to god the Union comes back before something major breaks.

If their backlog is going down it's because managers are thee longer each day and have more time to manipulate or reclassify in order to drive the numbers down.

All true.  These places can't be run by a skeleton crew over the long term.  You can only pare it down for so long before it's going to catch up with you.  So, the union members are counting on that need to drive management back to the table.  Management is counting on being able to hold out just long enough to make the employees cave under the pain of being broke.  They're playing poker with all the cards face-up.  You can't bluff.  You just have to hope that the dealer turns up your Ace of Diamonds before he turns up the other guy's Ace of Clubs.

Yeah.  Since we're pointing out contradictions in the propaganda, it is just as silly to claim that the backlog is going down because the managers are doing the work as it is to claim that the managers can't run the (very automated and procedure-driven) plant.  If you are a boss, and you assert that your employees don't do as much work as you can do without them, then you might be a better mechanic than they are, but you are a bad boss.

[ETCS]

Reads like a press release. What a crock of BS.

Depends on how you read it I guess - that came from a close Navy friend of mine and I believe it. 

From my friend at Nine Mile:  "apparently the local news has aleady lost interest so the union went to complain to the county legislature about the safety of the plants, and they have not responded, even in the form of a public statement."

I would guess that things are OK from a nuclear safety perspective, and that is what's really important.  I really do hope they resolve their differences but in the meantime the plant must be operated safely, the NRC wouldn't let them if they couldn't.

[cincinnatinuke]

I have to wonder aloud here, but doesnt paying those union dues add up in some strike fund?  Given that they never went on strike in the past this fund should be pretty well stocked.

Also, I heard, unconfirmed, that by changing the pension plans would net the company in the neighborhood of $7 million.

[wascilywabbit]

As a maintenance worker at the plant, let me add a few things.  Our pension was funded by Niagara Mohawk as negotiated during previous contract negotiations and now Constellation does not want to continue to fund accordingly.  There are now three tiers of pensions with the third being new hires who do not get a pension as we do.  Those who are senior are desiring to see the middle group be made whole and come to the same level without adding cost to the company but keep their level of funding as is.  They refuse.  In "good faith" the presented a last and final offer and will not negotiate further.  Yes, this will "cost" the company 7 million, our concessions in medical equalled any raise so there is NO additional cost to the company, they want to cut another 7 million off their payroll.  All this when our top executives are expecting to earn around 36 million when we merge with Excelon next year.
As far as the year to prepare, any nuclear plant that is organized HAS to have a strike contingency in place according to NRC rules.  Every plant that is represented by a union does this.  So, do you really think that at this point the NRC is going to go in and say that the contingency they agreed to was adequate is now inadequate?
Job shadowing was a joke!!  Any one who had performed any kind of maintenance or operations knows that if you've been out of the work loop for ten years, you won't learn a whole lot in a week or two following around a maintenance crew.
I do believe the plants are safe but only by design.  I fear for the management in there working that they might get hurt as you know they aren't following the safety rules, procedures, or any human performance practices.  Do you really think that they aren't cutting any corners?

[Higgs]

 I fear for the management in there working that they might get hurt as you know they aren't following the safety rules, procedures, or any human performance practices.  Do you really think that they aren't cutting any corners?

This entire statement is complete and utter BS. You have absolutely no basis for this and are just talking out your a$$.

[a|F]

I fear for the management in there working that they might get hurt as you know they aren't following the safety rules, procedures, or any human performance practices.  Do you really think that they aren't cutting any corners?

Who do you think established those practices? 
Your post was fair and balanced up to that point. 
Now you seem out of touch.

[IRLFAN]

I'm curious, what job is it that you do that is so far beyond the ability of your supervisors and those that trained you?

Edit:  I just read what I wrote back to myself and didn't like how asshat that sounded.  I'm curious because I'm trying to think of what would happen if my plant were in the same situation (even if we're non-union) and I personally think we'd be more or less ok in ops (with the exception of violating fatigue rules in a bad way). 

I am an  I&C tech.  While the two people in our training organization that have been techs in the past are quite capable of doing the job, they don't posses the same knowledge of the current equipment, and lack the practice that it takes to do the job well and error free in a timely manner.  The supervisors on the other hand, mostly haven't touched a tool in years, if ever, and would likely injure themselves if they tried.  Not that they are incompetent or stupid, but doing the job and supervising the job are completely different.  I watched three supervisors trying to do a simple surveillance procedure and saw things that would make you cringe.

And I've been here so long that most of my training was the informal on the job type, rather than the structured training that is now the norm, so the people that "trained me" are long retired, and I am one of the people who now train others.

If you think your plant would be OK at least in ops, I would have to bow to your knowledge of the situation.

[IRLFAN]

I'm thinking about this as I live about 40 miles downwind of your plant.

Competent, safe, operation of your plant seems to ride on the shoulders of one man,....you.

There might be two others who come close to being able to running that place competently.

And from your past posts I already know you're not a janitor,...

Without you three on station, whatever job it is you guys do to keep the rest of us safe from nuclear power would be accomplished at the competence level of an unmitigated disaster.

Now that's a paradox,...

I'm just saying,...

Let me know when you want to have a serious discussion.

[GLW]

I am an  I&C tech.  While the two people in our training organization that have been techs in the past are quite capable of doing the job, they don't posses the same knowledge of the current equipment, and lack the practice that it takes to do the job well and error free in a timely manner.  The supervisors on the other hand, mostly haven't touched a tool in years, if ever, and would likely injure themselves if they tried.  Not that they are incompetent or stupid, but doing the job and supervising the job are completely different.  I watched three supervisors trying to do a simple surveillance procedure and saw things that would make you cringe.

And I've been here so long that most of my training was the informal on the job type, rather than the structured training that is now the norm, so the people that "trained me" are long retired, and I am one of the people who now train others.

If you think your plant would be OK at least in ops, I would have to bow to your knowledge of the situation.

Let me know when you want to have a serious discussion.

I am serious,...

It's an open forum,...

You cringe when you watch supervisors perform simple procedures at your nuclear power plant,....

I cringe when your knowledge of the situation at your plant spills into the public domain described as an unmitigated disaster,...

[roadhp]

All this when our top executives are expecting to earn around 36 million when we merge with Excelon next year.

Perhaps this is the reason the "executives" do not want to make any more compromises.  Merger negotiations also have to do with the current Union contracts, and any changes to those contracts could put a hold on the merger talks until the parties have a chance to look at the new numbers.  This could push back or even halt the merger, although I think unless Constellation breaks off it's Maryland operations the merger is done for anyway, again.

[Melrose]

I fear for the management in there working that they might get hurt as you know they aren't following the safety rules, procedures, or any human performance practices.  Do you really think that they aren't cutting any corners?

Def talking out of your A$$, be sure to wipe the $hit off your lips before kissing your mom.

[Melrose]

A lot of info here is on target.
Families are being brought to the line, kids are strolling out into the streets to stop traffic, DAs are sitting in their cars waiting for people exiting and executing turn arounds in the middle of the road that take 5 minutes to complete.  Obscenities screamed are less than professional.  Vandalism outside the site, harrassment etc, gives the brothers a black eye in the eyes of the community.
(driving by Managers house, screaming obscenities at his wife and 5yo child, then speeding off - COWARDS...  pulling up next to somebody, cursing them and calling them names, throwing coffee on them, then speeding off - COWARDS, rapping your signs on cars as they drive by, then ducking into the crowd - COWARDS)
You have the support of alot of mgmt working inside but slowly losing it along with the respect you earned when working together.
Your beef isn't with a soul on site, but with the folks in Boston, why is it only some of the workforce understands that?  Is it that this just gives you chance to act like neanderthals and blame it on the strike.

Remember when it's all over you have to walk thru the fence, win or lose and work right beside the folks that you've been treating like crap.

Good luck

[Frankie Love]

Remember when it's all over you have to walk thru the fence, win or lose and work right beside the folks that you've been treating like crap.

Obviously, those "slugs" forget what got them to the happy place of decent wages. Toss em all and start over. Ungrateful knuckleheads that they are...

[duke99301]

I just want  to know who is staffing?

[hamsamich]

even our captain used to say "send the boat out to sea with the blueshirts and it will come back dirty, sent it out with the khakis....." and well, you know the rest.

[Fermi2]

I'll chime in here. IRL Fan worked for me (with me) for 15 years, 2 years of which we worked directly together when I was the FIN Team manager at Fermi.
He's an I and C tech, a highly motivated one and in my opinion one of the top 10 people from ANY department that I have ever worked with. Quite simply the guy knows his crap, and not only from a procedure standpoint. He's alert, knows how stuff works and is one of the few who can take a work order that simply says figure it out and fix it, then do so in a manner that it stays fixed. I was also at that facility during the time frame he was discussing. Two TS 3.0.3 entries and Three LERs due directly to not having the professionals from the craft being in that plant. Yes of course many supervisors can do said jobs, but what about those supervisors who did not grow up at that facility? That is getting more common every day and IIRC the individuals making said errors were either people who were supervisors without craft experience, OR supervisors who were made supervisors for reasons other than competence and yes there are lots of those.

I doubt there people bypassing safety and the like. But no way is that plant being run as well as when you have highly trained craft professionals on the job.

And I'll say it again, I would work with John long before I'd work with virtually everyone I've worked with in 27 years of Nuke Power his analysis in this case is dead on.

[duke99301]

all of the above is why  they created contractors. someone has to help. 11 years of  of hanford showed me that.

[justme]

Strike is over.  Workers back to work starting today.

[drayer54]

Strike is over.  Workers back to work starting today.

the outcome?

[Nuclear NASCAR]

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/nine_mile_point_nuclear_plant_1.html


Syracuse, N.Y. -- Union workers at the Nine Mile Point nuclear plants will return to their jobs over the next few days after approving a new 4-year contract that ends their 18-day strike.

Employees will get 2 percent raises each year of the contract, which was approved 395-64 in voting that took place Monday night and Tuesday.

Some 460 workers who walked off the job July 9 will return to work in groups of 60 to 100 per day under a "reintegration plan" devised by plant owner Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, said Sam Belcher, vice president.

The issue that sparked the strike — a dispute over pension benefits — was resolved to the satisfaction of union members, said Theodore Skerpon, president of Local 97 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

"We took care of the pension issue that we went out on," he said.

Some veteran employees "took a little hit" on their pension benefits, while more recent hires won improved pensions, but the overall package was better than what the union rejected in early July, Skerpon said.

Union members on July 6 rejected a 5-year deal that offered 13.6 percent wage increases over the full term.

Constellation officials said Tuesday that the new agreement "rearranged the pieces" to satisfy both sides, but kept the overall economics comparable to the original offer.