San Onofre (SONGS)

[MeterSwangin]

I spent 6 years working contract security at San Onofre in the 80's. I'm now trying to find employment there during the current outage. Does anybody know who the "Temp" employers are for the more entry level positions? (firewatch/janitorial/transportation) Very much appriciate some direction. Volt, Manpower, and a few others were there during the Unit 1 retro fit and construction of 2 & 3. I loved working there. At one time there were close to 6,0000 workers on site during construction.

Greg

Too late, Greg.  On outage day 9 of The Big One.  Hiring done.  Sorry.

[HydroDave63]

Or fresh lettuce at the cafeteria? 

[hdpaul1]

Can anyone point me to info on a few things at SONGS? I am having an interview for an in-house position next week. I would like to explore some things like, what unions are there, who is union and who is mgt. (which inhouse jobs). I know the cost of living is high but have not determined how different from the North East. It looks like housing is the big difference. I would try renting and sharing with someone first.

are electricians union? What about maintenance coordinators? any other info or opinions are appreciated.

[HydroDave63]

Can anyone point me to info on a few things at SONGS? I am having an interview for an in-house position next week. I would like to explore some things like, what unions are there, who is union and who is mgt. (which inhouse jobs). I know the cost of living is high but have not determined how different from the North East. It looks like housing is the big difference. I would try renting and sharing with someone first.

are electricians union? What about maintenance coordinators? any other info or opinions are appreciated.

I'll give you a hint....the answers are in THIS VERY THREAD!!

[hdpaul1]

so your gonna make me actually work for my answer, huh?

[Brett LaVigne]

You will fit right in at SONGS.

HA! Thats funny.

[MeterSwangin]

Can anyone point me to info on a few things at SONGS? I am having an interview for an in-house position next week. I would like to explore some things like, what unions are there, who is union and who is mgt. (which inhouse jobs). I know the cost of living is high but have not determined how different from the North East. It looks like housing is the big difference. I would try renting and sharing with someone first.

are electricians union? What about maintenance coordinators? any other info or opinions are appreciated.

Ignore the turds.  They are swirling in some bowl far from California and no longer work for a living.

SONGS craft are UWUA.  Cost of living is comparable with northeast...pay is high.  No snow.  Great folks.

[HydroDave63]

  SONGs employees live pretty close to the plant - whether it be O'Side

and here is where they are at shift turnover time...

[dirac]

and here is where they are at shift turnover time...

Funny I commute 5 days a week there and have to go thru that checkpoint maybe once a month at most causing me a five minute delay. WOW, point really made. No different then having to go through any kind of toll booth on the way to work - except its closed 95% of the time.

[dirac]

Point well made T. Its just people have made attempts to say good things (mainly meter swangin) and they get countered with nonesense posts that attack not only the plant but so cal in general and I'm gettin tired of reading these silly claims people are making.

[Brett LaVigne]

Many of the people I know at SONGS that are house or long term contract commute stupid distances because of the high price of coast living. I know more than one person that works there and travels over 70 miles to work. When I worked SONGS a lot through the 90's, I liked to stay in San Clemente. It had a reputation for being a nice place to live with safe streets compared to Oceanside and some other reasonable comutes. Last time I was there (2007 - 2008) there were several robberies in San Clemente. One was a deconner trying to get cash out of an ATM in San Clemente, he got beat up and robbed. When I was in San Clemente in 1996, the population of the town was around 45,000. In 2006 when I returned, I believe it had grown by over 20,000. That may not seem significant over that time frame, but for a town the size of San Clemente, it's way too much. When my wife and I were there in 2007, it was a rare day to be able to park my car within' 2 blocks of where I lived. From LA south, California is like a clown car!

I no longer see my self ever wanting to visit southern California again. A place I used to love has been taken over by illegal Mexicans, is over priced in every respect, and really offers nothing other than nice sunshine and crowded beaches. But this is my opinion based on watching the area and living there on and off (not just for outages by the way) for a period of more than 15 years.

Oh, by the way. I just wanted to add at this point that the Mid-coast and North coast of California really suck too...really...you don't want to come here and you need to pass that along to your 20 million southern Californian neigbors...please...

For what it's worth, that is my opinion. And this is from someone that has stayed in the area in the last couple of years and has a 15 year history with the area as well. My taste is not yours, so you might be ok with what I mentioned. So, if you like thousands and thousands and thousands of neigbors, want to pay way too much for a small house, like the idea that english is a 2nd language, like a very poor public school system, huge fires on a yearly basis, plenty of crime...then this might be for you. I will say that San Clemente has Fat Burger...and that is a good thing!

[Brett LaVigne]

Perhaps I need to attend Broadzilla's charm school.

HA! Thats funny! I actually kinda like the brutal honesty. If people aren't smart enough to check things out for them selves and not just take the word of people here, they will get what they deserve. I believe most on here would be smart enough to do both, and realize that what is good for one is not neccessarily good for another. There will always be those for and those against what ever the topic is. Take the perspective, negative or positive, consider it all and consider the sources. Then go look your self and make you decision.

You don't need charm school for these threads, others just need to thicken up a bit and not take it so personally when someone has a different point of view.

[dirac]

When I was in San Clemente in 1996, the population of the town was around 45,000. In 2006 when I returned, I believe it had grown by over 20,000.

My taste is not yours, so you might be ok with what I mentioned. So, if you like thousands and thousands and thousands of neigbors, want to pay way too much for a small house, like the idea that english is a 2nd language, like a very poor public school system, huge fires on a yearly basis, plenty of crime...then this might be for you. I will say that San Clemente has Fat Burger...and that is a good thing!

If the cost of living is so much how did 20,000 people end up moving there? Last time I checked people move to places they want to live.

Poor California School System:
1. Stanford
2. UC Berkeley
3. UCLA
4. Boalt School of Law
5. UCSF
6. Harvey Mudd
7. USC
8. UC San Diego
9. Cal Tech
Just to name a few. Yeah really bad schools (majority of whos students are California residents educated in California Schools).

[HydroDave63]

Ill keep it professional from here on.

still waiting on that, I reckon

If the cost of living is so much how did 20,000 people end up moving there? Last time I checked people move to places they want to live.

Poor California School System:
1. Stanford
2. UC Berkeley
3. UCLA
4. Boalt School of Law
5. UCSF
6. Harvey Mudd
7. USC
8. UC San Diego
9. Cal Tech
Just to name a few. Yeah really bad schools (majority of whos students are California residents educated in California Schools).

As evidenced by California placing #34 in the US for 2009 SAT scores, lagging behind #8 Nebraska (where it is still legal for 14 year olds to detassle corn on schoolnights) and #18 Louisiana (where Hurricane Katrina washed the books away but they still whomped #34 ranked Commiefornia)
http://blog.bestandworststates.com/2009/08/25/state-sat-scores-2009.aspx

Now, if you choose to be proud of a plant that declares an Alert for a foot long piece of scrap pipe and has 4 quarters running of Problem Identification and Resoulution http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/sano_2009q2.pdf it's entirely up to you. Having the extra NRC people on site is a GREAT way to "network" with industry professionals!   Heck, they might even put in a good word for ya. I'm sure you'll let the folks over at K-50 and the Queen Mary know how you told off those unbelievers online....

[desertdog]

I dont need to know him. He has said everything he needs to about himself through his comments - which is the point I'm trying to make. If you read through the SONGs posts no other plant receives quite as much ridicule about its community and those who work there as SONGs does. And its mainly due to folks like Mutant who take it upon themselves to fabricate stories and spew bile with nonsense statements and untrue facts. I have no problem calling a spade a spade when I see one. Mutant is a dolt and know nothing about working SONGs or Southern California.

I just wonder how many plants you have been to work. These stories aren't fabricated. They are written by those of us that have worked there plus many other plants around the country. We have seen good stuff and bad stuff from all of them. SONGS has allowed bad stuff to go uncorrected. There has been very little accountability from management down through the workforce so it is very frustrating to do your job to the utmost. Instead of fixing the problems, the preferred response is to argue that there is no problem.

[Chimera]

I have to agree with Brett.  I used to live in San Diego in the 60's and 70's.  I've worked at San Onofre off and on for over 20 years since the early 80's.  I like the plant and I like the people that I've worked with there - both contractor and house.  I don't necessarily agree with everything I've seen and done at SONGS but I can say that about most all of the other 20+ plants I've worked at over the years - also both as a contractor and as house.

My primary turn-off where San Clemente and SONGS is concerned is the political environment I've seen grow and change over the years in California.  Quite honestly, that's what keeps me out of California these days.  I miss the plant, my friends there and the San Clemente area in general, but . . .

[HydroDave63]

Ever hear of the SGR that had only 3 PCEs by day 24?   Didn't think so.  SONGS. 

Ever hear of the plant where Maintenance couldn't even pull fuses correctly during Aux Feedwater testing? Yep. SONGS.  http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SANO3/sano3_pim.html

[Brett LaVigne]

Works for me.  Live where you like and prosper. 

Park in the living room in your underwear between shifts at the carwash.  Go online and piss on places you got kicked out of.  Make stuff up.  Find petty crimes in distant neighborhoods on the internet.  Eat cheetos and drool on the keyboard.

Ever hear of the SGR that had only 3 PCEs by day 24?   Didn't think so.  SONGS. 

Never been kicked out of anywhere that I can remember, never made stuff up either. In fact I was encouraged to apply for a house position not only at SONGS, but also Cook, Palasaids and a core group for Southern Company in the last 3 years. In fact, the second to last outage I did at SONGS in 2007, I needed to ask for a layoff date so I could make it home for Christmas, this was after 8 weeks and most of the RIF had already taken place.

Sometimes the truth sounds mean, doesn't mean it isn't true. I think people pretty much get who you are and what you are all about. If you like it, fine. Say you like it. Your taste is different than others. But it is not very adult like to think your opinion is the only valid opinion. If you were to read my post all the way through, you would see that this is where I stand. I think people need to go and form their own opinions and not just listen to me or you. I can't imagine how difficult you must be to deal with on the job, believeing that you have all the answers and the only point of view that matters. Sounds dangerous for our environment, I wish your peers luck and hope they are out of the way when it goes wrong.

The best memories I have of being on the road as a rent a tech were right there at SONGS in the early to mid 90's. If you actually knew me, you would know that I do not have any other motive than to give someone an honest opinion. You are offended and personally hurt by my opinion. It is starting to sound like you are trying to convince yourself that SoCal is a great place and doesn't have any of the problems that many here agree to be the truth.

Are PCE's your benchmark for a successfull outage? You probably need to expand your vision a bit. There is a lot more to a successfull outage than the number of PCE's.

[dirac]

Which plant(s) do you work at Mutant and Hydro that have 0 inpo OE's?

[Brett LaVigne]

Which plant(s) do you work at Mutant and Hydro that have 0 inpo OE's?

We all got em', it's just that some plants make it an art form and some plants learn and get better. Nobody is perfect, I think even Diablo Canyon has slipped to INPO 2 for a short time.

[FatMalky]

yawn.....

You tired?  Sorry, I thought it was along the same lines as YOUR argument.

SONGS is BY FAR the most disorganized plant I've ever worked at.  Nice people and nice weather - but the plant as a whole is just CLUELESS as to how the rest of the World operates!  There's not much wrong with being "different" from everyone else but when there's no rhyme or reason for the things you do, it just causes chaos and confusion... you may have noticed!

[BuddyThePug]

Someone left the popcorn in the microwave too long?

Power Reactor Event Number: 45462
Facility: SAN ONOFRE
Region: 4 State: CA
Unit: [ ] [2] [3]
RX Type: [1] W-3-LP,[2] CE,[3] CE
NRC Notified By: M. W. MCBREARTY
HQ OPS Officer: VINCE KLCO  Notification Date: 10/23/2009
Notification Time: 17:46 [ET]
Event Date: 10/23/2009
Event Time: 12:05 [PDT]
Last Update Date: 10/23/2009 
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
50.72(b)(3)(xiii) - LOSS COMM/ASMT/RESPONSE
Person (Organization):
NEIL OKEEFE (R4DO)


Unit SCRAM Code RX CRIT Initial PWR Initial RX Mode Current PWR Current RX Mode
2 N N 0 Refueling 0 Refueling
3 N Y 100 Power Operation 100 Power Operation

Event Text

LOSS OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS CAPABILITIES

"On Friday October 23, 2009, at approximately 1205 PDT, Southern California Edison (SCE) evacuated Building E-50, which includes the SONGS [San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station] Emergency Operations Facility (EOF). This Building is located outside of both the Protected Area and the Owner Controlled Area. The evacuation was initiated due to personnel reports of a smoky odor in Building E-50. SONGS Fire Department responded to the incident and, at approximately 1222 PDT, the majority of Building E 50, including the EOF, was cleared for personnel to re-enter the building. SCE is continuing to investigate the source of the smoky odor.

The EOF was considered unavailable (but fully functional) for approximately 17 minutes.

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

[Brett LaVigne]

Here is a little evidence that Brett was there and his opinion of the site and surrounding communities should not be casually dismissed.

Man, I shoulda never posted that photo! LOL! That was a while ago.

[MeterSwangin]

On top of violating forum rules, you're subtle skills of identification need some honing. Don't see any xxxxx's there.

I did not write xxxxx, friend.  Those letters were apparently inserted by the censors.

Did not realize it was uncool to use names.  I know Mutant....so do many of you.  But I guess there is an incognito thing here to be respected.  However nonsensical...

My bad.

[Nuclear NASCAR]

Rule #7. Peoples name's: It's a bad idea to use them, they lead to law suits. Some names are already censored because of this. Don't use names in stories or messages that could in any way be taken wrong.

It's just one of the forum rules you agreed to when you signed up.  As is the nuclear way, we err on the side of caution.

Thanks for understanding.