Hanford

[roadhp]

As a temporary contractor, I am concerned that we won't be here beyond February.  The word on the grapevine is that if CH2MHILL doesn't get the money they asked for from DOE, and they will get an answer in February, then they will begin layoffs as soon as March.  In a normal world, this wouldn't affect me since I am with WRPS.  But things are not normal here in the Great Northwest, and according to the contract with HAMTEC, the local union conglomeration, before the first layoff of a house technician from ANY company on site can occur, ALL temporary contract technicians MUST be offsite, regardless of the status of their jobs or the intention of the Prime Contractor to hire any house technicians.  So that means that if even one house technician from CH2MHILL has to get laid off and doesn't have a house job to go to, then all 200 some contractors must be laid off in all companies.  Then later, when the dust settles, they can be rehired after the temporary jobs are first offered to the laid off house technicians.  This was explained to me by our union steward, and I think I got it right.  Please enlighten me if any of this is wrong, as I don't want to be Chicken Little.

[liam]

Well, we are contractors and being such, we should be prepared to be laid off at any time!  My contract said I could be let go with no notice and I prepared for that.  Why are you surprised? Do you honestly think a house person should lose their job and the company should keep us?  This has been a good ride and I have no complaints.  I have been treated better here than I ever was treated by a commercial nuke plant.

For some reason nukeworker has become a complaint forum.  People whine about traffic, being sent home during bad weather, and the potential lay off when the Obama bucks go away.  I thank the Lord for giving me this job when I needed it, for the wonderful people I have worked with, and for the beautiful state I currently reside in.

[AS55555]

RP technicians must feel pretty good about their current positions. LES posted a job opening on nukeworker for a permanent decent paying job with great benefits and received minimal response and is still looking

[tntplayer]

I just had a phone interview (yesterday, 1/20) with a project manager of Eberline about a Sr. RCT position.  My impression was that I will be offered a position.  So, why are people talking about lay offs?

[Marlin]

I just had a phone interview (yesterday, 1/20) with a project manager of Eberline about a Sr. RCT position.  My impression was that I will be offered a position.  So, why are people talking about lay offs?

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/01/20/1333876/1600-layoffs-in-the-works-at-hanford.html

[Mike_Koehler]

Interesting Mike that you state "30 somethings".  I gather they will not consider anyone older ?   Hmmmmmmm.

They will always consider older people...... That has been what we have hired. We currently have 2 techs under 40 out of 30 techs. I am 50 and am not even in the upper 50% for age. I was trying to delicately encourage some younger people to apply..... Historically they hire someone with >15 years experience hence the 30 something in the post.

Mike

[roadhp]

Well, we are contractors and being such, we should be prepared to be laid off at any time!  My contract said I could be let go with no notice and I prepared for that.  Why are you surprised? Do you honestly think a house person should lose their job and the company should keep us?  This has been a good ride and I have no complaints.  I have been treated better here than I ever was treated by a commercial nuke plant.

For some reason nukeworker has become a complaint forum.  People whine about traffic, being sent home during bad weather, and the potential lay off when the Obama bucks go away.  I thank the Lord for giving me this job when I needed it, for the wonderful people I have worked with, and for the beautiful state I currently reside in.

Unless you know my situation, don't judge me!!!  Since Thanksgiving we have had to go to two funerals, one for my mother, and any planning we have done for this inevitability have been exhausted, so I have a right to be concerned.  I was also giving out information that not every contract tech at Hanford knew about.  No, I don't think a house tech should lose their job for them to keep us, but I do think the knee jerk reaction they have in the contract to lay every temporary contractor off for one person is too much.  Maybe if they were to do a bump and roll like they do with house techs it would make more sense.  There are contract techs with families as well, and we would feel bad about them losing their jobs, too.  As far as the Obama bucks going away, that isn't true.  CH2MHILL is having to layoff people because the contract obligations weren't met, so some of the money was sent elsewhere, which is why they are having to do layoffs.  But if they lay off, and that causes the other companies to layoff their contractors, then the other companies will start to lose money because they can't complete their commitments due to lack of resources.  It is a snowball effect.

[liam]

Road Hp, I was not passing judgment on you.   I am truly sorry for your situation, but I do stand by what I said.

My manager, supervisor, and union steward, all said the layoffs are going to occur because the American Recovery Act money (Obama Bucks) will run out at the end of the fiscal year.  The CEO of CH2MHILL sent a letter to all personnel essentially saying that too.  Does anyone think a Republican congress, which is trying to cut funding and reduce debt, is going to give two billion more dollars to Hanford?  At an all hands meeting in October we were told to expect 50% less funding in fiscal year 2012, so this is not a surprise to our group.

The letter said voluntary layoffs would occur in June/July and then involuntary layoffs by the end of the fiscal year (Sept).  My union steward told me to expect to stay until the involuntary layoffs start.  Nevertheless, I am prepared to leave if it happens sooner.

[roadhp]

I understand what you are saying, Liam, but it doesn't match what my supervision and union steward are saying.  According to the union steward, involuntary layoffs could start as early as March, in which case we will be gone first.  I asked the radcon manager if this is going to affect us soon, and he said he didn't know how soon.  We always were planning on leaving at the end of the fiscal year when the ARRA money expires, so that isn't a problem, it's the leaving in a couple of weeks to catch the outages because we just don't know that is on our minds.  Who knows, but we did call Bartlett today, and the commercial side said they knew about the situation and were working on it.  Since they don't plan for the fall outages until after all the spring outages are staffed, I can only conclude that they think layoffs are possible soon.

[Bonds 25]

Reading this thread makes me happy I work for a different outfit on the Hanford Site......Yea For Columbia (even if we are ranked 104 out of 104)

[UncaBuffalo]

Reading this thread makes me happy I work for a different outfit on the Hanford Site......Yea For Columbia (even if we are ranked 104 out of 104)

http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,916.new.html#new

[105KW]

And so it starts :

From:               John Lehew                                                                 Log Number: CH1101-05
                        President and CEO

Date:               January 19, 2011                                                                   

To:                   CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company Employees
                        (Please forward to those who may not have seen this message)

Subject:           WORKFORCE RESTRUCTURING

In recent weeks, there has been a great deal of discussion within the workplace about workforce actions that may be needed as we approach the coming year.  We are now at a point where I can provide you with information on what our plans are, and what we anticipate in fiscal year 2011.

Thanks to the hard work of our staff, effective planning, and substantial investments under the Recovery Act, CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) and our teaming subcontractors have made significant progress in accelerating environmental cleanup work here at Hanford ahead of schedule on nearly every project.  We have completed critical environmental remediation projects safely, below cost, and have met all Fiscal Year Tri-Party Agreement Milestones on or ahead of schedule at the Hanford Site.
As we expected going into a project of this scope, staffing levels have fluctuated routinely as we have brought in subcontractors and other employees to work on specific tasks.  The Department of Energy (DOE) has now approved CHPRC's Workforce Restructuring Plan, which ensures that as we move forward, we continue to have the right set of skills to achieve our mission at the greatest value for taxpayers.  The Plan includes a two-phased workforce restructuring framework that will use both voluntary and involuntary separations to decrease the number of workers supporting CHPRC by up to 1,350 during the final quarter of fiscal year 2011.

In late May 2011, a 21-day open window for a voluntary Self-Select Program (SSP) will be available for CHPRC employees.  Participation in the SSP program will be open to all eligible, regular, full-time and part-time employees. Employees who apply and are approved for the SSP will receive severance of one week's pay for every year of eligibility service, up to 20 weeks.  In addition, employees may elect continued medical coverage under the DOE Displaced Workers Medical Benefits Program. Further details of the SSP program will be communicated and will be posted on the CHPRC Intranet.
After the 21-day period, we will determine the impact of the SSP and to what extent further reductions may be necessary. Prior to notifying anyone of involuntary separation, we will work with other Hanford contractors to identify any potential employment opportunities.  Involuntary separation selections for exempt and nonexempt-nonbargaining positions will be based on mission requirements and the results of a rating and ranking process. HAMTC-represented employees will be separated in accordance with provisions of their union contract. Involuntarily separated employees will receive the same benefits as those employees who are approved for the SSP. 
Affected workers will have access to a local contractor transition service center that is located at WorkSource Columbia Basin Center, a state-run partnership of more than a dozen public and private community partners.  CHPRC will coordinate with WorkSource to ensure that displaced workers  have access to support services such as resume and cover letter development, interview skills training, and job search technique training. Attached is a fact sheet that provides additional information on the available worker support services being offered by the Hanford Contractors and the Department of Energy.

We have made significant progress in accelerating work here at Hanford, including removing buildings, remediating waste sites, containing and treating contaminated groundwater, disposing of legacy waste and fuels, and constructing new groundwater treatment systems. 

We should all be proud of the work we have accomplished here and of the progress we have made so far. With much work yet to be done, I ask all of you to help maintain our momentum into fiscal year 2011.
The remaining challenges are some of the largest on the Site, but through continued safe work performance, we will achieve the mission DOE has set out for us – to clean up the Hanford Site.

[Mike_Koehler]

Involuntarily separated employees will receive the same benefits as those employees who are approved for the SSP. 

So..... What exactly is the benefit of self selecting? Note that Savannah River is offering the same thing except they get 26 weeks maximum.......

Mike

[105KW]

Doesn't appear to give you anything to self select. Except maybe getting a better shot at another location.

105KW

[snowman]

You'll receive 1 week pay for every year of service up to 20 weeks, which you ordinarily are not entitled to when you leave voluntarily. That could be a nudge for a few folks who are a year or so away from retirement. Not what most employees nearing retirement at Hanford were hoping for considering the generous packages SRS gave people back in the 1990's.

What is interesting to note is that URS, the parent company for 1/2 the work at Hanford, says they are not anticipating reductions in force. Most people don't see how that is possible. Either way, the fallout from the so-called stimulus funds coming to an end will soon be felt all over the site.

[snowman]

I just had a phone interview (yesterday, 1/20) with a project manager of Eberline about a Sr. RCT position.  My impression was that I will be offered a position.  So, why are people talking about lay offs?

I wouldn't quit a long term job no matter what they told you. Ever heard  'if their lips are moving.... '. If you are out of work, that's a different story. By all means, take it. I will tell you this and you can write it in stone...don't plan on being there much past spring. That place is getting ready to be turned inside out thanks to the great community organizer. 

[snowman]

I understand what you are saying, Liam, but it doesn't match what my supervision and union steward are saying.  According to the union steward, involuntary layoffs could start as early as March, in which case we will be gone first. 

Your union steward is not entirely correct. According to the ARRA union agreement for contract RCT's, there is no site wide seniority for sub-contract RCT's, it is entirely project specific. Put another way, if project X has a reduction in force, the rent-a-techs on project X would be layed off first by order of seniority, in effect retaining less senior contract techs on other projects that have not yet identified layoffs. If the reductions on project X go so far as to reach the house techs (and they will), then the least senior contract tech, regardless of the project or the company, would be let go.

As you can see, there will be massive upheaval across the site starting this spring. House techs will not only be moving to different projects but to different contracts(companies).  Ask your steward for TJ's phone number if you want to hear this for yourself.

[roadhp]

Your union steward is not entirely correct. According to the ARRA union agreement for contract RCT's, there is no site wide seniority for sub-contract RCT's, it is entirely project specific. Put another way, if project X has a reduction in force, the rent-a-techs on project X would be layed off first by order of seniority, in effect retaining less senior contract techs on other projects that have not yet identified layoffs. If the reductions on project X go so far as to reach the house techs (and they will), then the least senior contract tech, regardless of the project or the company, would be let go.

As you can see, there will be massive upheaval across the site starting this spring. House techs will not only be moving to different projects but to different contracts(companies).  Ask your steward for TJ's phone number if you want to hear this for yourself.

Actually, she has been through this before, and specifically asked the union about it, and as I have said, ALL subcontract HP technicians MUST be offsite before the first house tech can be laid off.  The companies can rehire, but they must first offer positions as temporary contractors to those who have been displaced as house techs.  I will PM you the actual contract verbage when I can access the contract tomorrow if you like, but it isn't going to be a one laid off house tech, one laid off subcontractor.  It is all or none.

[snowman]

That's true, all contractors will be laid off before the first permanent employee, as it should be.

[tagline]

I did not know that there are "permanent" workers at Hanford. I thought that it was all contractors or subcontractors.

[105KW]

I did not know that there are "permanent" workers at Hanford. I thought that it was all contractors or subcontractors.

Hmm...36 years at Hanford as an RCT makes you feel pretty permanent. Would you not agree ? 

[tagline]

Sorry, you may think that because you have been here 36 years. But you are still a contractor.

[105KW]

Sorry, you may think that because you have been here 36 years. But you are still a contractor.

Semantics   I guess anyone with a job would be a contractor. We all work for someone

[tagline]

So true Brother, so true.

[EtherealOmega]

As a relatively new road tech ~5yrs experience, I would say that this subject is mute. I work for the highest bidder, though I feel greatly discriminated in the field due to my young age (27). I never expected to be at Hanford past September and can at least take a couple of months to line jobs for August and beyond. There is no shortage of work and if your a contract tech complaining about layoffs you are in the wrong field.

And people say my generation whines, jeez.