Hanford

[105KW]

I am getting ready to start my first job as a rad tech at Hanford and was just curious if the guy pitching the deal to me is telling the truth on the work load.  He said that we do as much if not less work than what a Navy ELT did in the military.

It really depends on where at Hanford you land.  Hanford is large with multiple work groups. Some of us stay pretty busy in the Tank Farms, while others are more relaxed

Where ever  you end up welcome..You are in for a treat ( snicker snicker )

[stormgoalie]

It really depends on where at Hanford you land.  Hanford is large with multiple work groups. Some of us stay pretty busy in the Tank Farms, while others are more relaxed

Where ever  you end up welcome..You are in for a treat ( snicker snicker )

True enough! When I worked at N-Reactor doing decommisioning we were busy most of the time.  When I was with IFS&M, boring most of time, but busy on occasion.

[drewdeezy]

I cannot comment on the site, since I do not work out there. I can comment on the area though as I have lived here all my life.

Richland uptown is a cool place to hangout, not far from the plant. There are a few pubs, notibly Town Crier and the Uptown bar and grill. Most of the good food you will find in Kennewick. Any apartments/houses located off/around Queensgate, Gage Blvd, Steptoe, Hwy 240 are a good bet. Give you direct connect to freeway. Nice thing about Richland/Kennewick is there aint much traffic in this city.

Housing that was mentioned in the first post is great. Washington square apt's are a great place to live, I have lived at them in the past. You really cant beat it. We also have an EXCELLENT van pool system setup for working out in the area. car dropoff/pickup at quite a few set locations. Price is pretty cheap for vanpooling too. Expect to drive 45minutes plus somedays to get out to the job site. (information from brother in law who is an RCT)

Any other questions about lodging at a certain place or what to do in town, feel free to ask away

[Atomic_Punk]

After the Hanford stimulous money hiring, apartments in the area right now at about 98%, so they're not easy to find.

[Rad Honey]

The site has golden handcuffs. Everyone wants to work here so they can make tons of money. When this place goes away there won't be any reason to live here. There houses are expensive, they think what they have is gold. The taxes on gas, smokes, booze is out of control. If you like hunting, fishing and camping, eating at the finest Mac Donald's, you belong here. Not seeing the sun for four to five months in the winter is just great, but they do have mild winters, ha, the wind will kill you.
No culture at all, the dress is jeans and a t shirt for anything. Just here for the money.

[roadhp]

Have been working out here with El-Camino/Bartlett since May.  No real problems so far, except for the usual Union/subcontractor problems (the Union requires us to be in the union and pay dues, but exempt us from any real benefits except for union scale, which is already required by Davis Bacon).  However, today we found out that when the facility closes for inclement weather, the regular people get paid.  But the Union, when they made the Memorandum of Agreement with WRPS, who is the prime contractor, to bring us in, made sure that we didn't get paid for those times when we are sent home or are either late start or the facility is closed all day.  To top it all, since we didn't get "paid" for those hours missed, we also do not get the associated per Diem, according to Bartlett/El Camino's formula.  The only way we can get per Diem is to take basically paid vacation for those days and hours so that we make at least 35 hours for the week.  Don't get me wrong, the pay is outstanding, and the fact that we do get PTO has been a bonus, but the other things that they don't tell you when you come out here are building up to critical mass.  Those things include:

1.  You work for Bartlett/El Camino, but you don't.  It is a co-employment situation, with WRPS paying your wages, taking out taxes, pays for holidays, and that is who your time sheet is with.  Bartlett/El Camino (and DeNuke is the other contract company) pays you your per Diem and Health and Welfare, and takes out your Insurance if you have it.  They also pay you your Paid Time Off. 

2.  You have to belong to the union.  Washington State is a closed shop.  But you get no benefits from being in the union.  All of those are reserved for regular union employees.  You are also not even on the overtime list until they have exhausted every other person in all 4 of their overtime lists, even if they don't work in your area.

3.  If you work for Bartlett, you may not still be working for Bartlett when you show up, you may be working for El Camino.  A certain number of people have to work for El Camino since they are the 8A company and basically subcontract out to Bartlett, but they have to have a certain percentage actually working for them.  Pro - your per Diem is direct deposited.  Con - if you have insurance with Bartlett you have to keep it under Cobra since El Camino doesn't offer it.  This is OK so long as the Cobra is at the reduced rate, but if it ever goes up to full Cobra it will hurt.

4.  Also as a part of the co-employment issue, you are not offered 401.k withholding for your regular salary.  Your health and welfare is still under 401.k, but not your wages.

5.  Bonuses were promised, and the first one was delivered at the 90 day point, but when we asked about the end of project bonus, were told that didn't exist and we weren't promised it.

Still working here because the pay is still great, just frustrating weeding through all the web of who we actually work for, who pays us and what the details are.  Just thought people should know if they want to come out here to the tank farms.

[patriotsailor01]

I took a position as a contract rct at hanford and after getting here found out I had to be in the union and was paid by the same company that pays the house techs. Ok, fine, wasn't happy about it but not worth leaving over. The last couple weeks we have been having bad weather and the site has been shut down for a total of 8 hours. Because of the agreement between the union and the company house techs get paid for that time, however contract techs don't. I really don't understand how this can be, we are employed by the same company, at the same site, doing the same job, in the same union, paying the same dues, and are represented differently? I could understand if nobody got paid or if we weren't in the union but it's simply unequal representation. I'm wondering if anybody has dealt with this or who I could file a complaint with.

[retread]

I'm at the Lazy H also.  At first, I thought it was unfair to not pay us for the site being shut down.  I was told it was part of the contract my employer and CH2MHILL had prior to my employment.  However, if I wanted house tech bennies, I would have become house after they offered the position.  Losing a few hours pay isn't worth drawing a line in the sand for me.  We're making some pretty good money and at the Lazy H, I'm definitely not killing myself for the pay!

[roadhp]

What if the site gets a freak blizzard next week?  We don't get paid AND we don't get per Diem.  Plus, I don't care what agreement the company has with the contract company, they have a contract with the union, and the procedure says we should get paid.  This is just some pennypincher trying to save the company a little cash at our expense on a company that made a profit of millions of dollars and paid house people (every one) over $3K in bonus (that we also didn't get because the union sold out). 

[snowman]

You're not going to get a shoulder to cry on here. The rental techs at Hanford are making close to $100 grand a year and that's without overtime, which most of them that have wanted to have worked  aplenty. There are contract HP's at Hanford who will make $150K there this year. This is by far one of the all time best contract jobs in the history of rent-a teching. Period, end of the story. There are folks coming out of the woodwork to get into that place.

It's a big site and not every company and for that matter facility plays by the same rules. They also shut down outside operations in high winds and contract HP's aren't sent home for that though they could be. As far as the bonus goes, the permanent HP's at Hanford also receive matching 401K, bereavement pay, tuition reimbursement, medical/dental, paid vacation and holidays, and a pension plan. It's called a house job. If you want all the perks of a permanent job give up the per diem and go house. Contract HP's got it pretty good there.

[Sun Dog]

You're not going to get a shoulder to cry on here. The rental techs at Hanford are making close to $100 grand a year and that's without overtime, which most of them that have wanted to have worked  aplenty. There are contract HP's at Hanford who will make $150K there this year. This is by far one of the all time best contract jobs in the history of rent-a teching. Period, end of the story. There are folks coming out of the woodwork to get into that place.

It's a big site and not every company and for that matter facility plays by the same rules. They also shut down outside operations in high winds and contract HP's aren't sent home for that though they could be. As far as the bonus goes, the permanent HP's at Hanford also receive matching 401K, bereavement pay, tuition reimbursement, medical/dental, paid vacation and holidays, and a pension plan. It's called a house job. If you want all the perks of a permanent job give up the per diem and go house. Contract HP's got it pretty good there.

Excellent points!  $150K/year to survey dirt and they still find a reason to whine. 

[Smart People]

It's either too hot, too cold or too balmy

[61 nomad]

I'm in the same boat you're in here at Hanford.   On page 55 of the contract is says that subs get paid for facility closure days (holidays I guess?) but am not sure why we dont get paid for other closure days.  In defense of the union, where else have you worked where the union requires that subcontractors get the same hourly wage as house techs?  Wouldn't THAT be nice at power plants?!

[retired nuke]

 In defense of the union, where else have you worked where the union requires that subcontractors get the same hourly wage as house techs?  Wouldn't THAT be nice at power plants?!

Rocky Flats - but that was DOE also.

Thank god they didn't make the contractor supv make the same pay as house... I made almost $10/hr more.... and got OT...

[roadhp]

I'm in the same boat you're in here at Hanford.   On page 55 of the contract is says that subs get paid for facility closure days (holidays I guess?) but am not sure why we dont get paid for other closure days.  In defense of the union, where else have you worked where the union requires that subcontractors get the same hourly wage as house techs?  Wouldn't THAT be nice at power plants?!

It's called the Davis-Bacon act, and at DOE the union has no choice, the company must pay the prevailing wage.

As far as the pay goes, sure we are making good money, but I would like to work at least 40 hours/week and get all of my per Diem for the week.  The bills don't stop, and I didn't travel 2500 miles away from home to not work the hours I was promised.  As far as OT, we are at the bottom of the barrel and it is few and far between.

[Sun Dog]

It's called the Davis-Bacon act, and at DOE the union has no choice, the company must pay the prevailing wage.

As far as the pay goes, sure we are making good money, but I would like to work at least 40 hours/week and get all of my per Diem for the week.  The bills don't stop, and I didn't travel 2500 miles away from home to not work the hours I was promised.  As far as OT, we are at the bottom of the barrel and it is few and far between.

Why don't you go house?  Or quit?  Or go on strike? Or suck it up and be grateful you make more money than 99+% of the people on the planet for surveying dirt?

[patriotsailor01]

Nomad,

Thank you for the info about the contract, that was what I was hoping to find out.

As for everyone else that says we are "whining" or "complaining", the fact remains that we pay union dues to the same union that house techs are in but are unequally represented for doing the same job. Either let us out of the union (which most of us would be fine with) or represent us equally. By the fact that you are an rct I am sure you are smart enough to understand our frustration on this. Another poster was right in that you can post on here forever and it won't change anything. That was why I simply asked for some information from people that had dealt wiith this in the past.

[retread]

When I was first hired on here, I was given the union booklet.  If I remember correctly, we fall under "temporary" employment status.  They made us the exception to the rule as "temporary" is, I believe, six months or less of employment. Temporary union members are not entitled to the same benefits as the house people.  We also don't get their insurance, retirement and 401K benefits.   It is also my understanding the weather we've experienced in these last few weeks is a once in a generation occurrence.  I sure didn't complain when work was shut down due to high winds and we were playing cards in the trailer and getting paid for it.  I won't complain because I lose five or six hours of pay in a year!

[Sun Dog]

I'm wondering if anybody has dealt with this or who I could file a complaint with.

File your complaint with the person who forced you to accept a job without first understanding the working arrangement and pay structure.  You should also file a complaint with the person who is forcing you to stay and endure such brutal and unfair work practices.  Let us know how it works out.

[hamsamich]

You know, everybody is making fun of these people at Hanford for complaining about money and work they were told they were going to receive.  I don't care how much $$$$ per hour I'm making or how easy the work is.  If I was told to come to a place hundreds or thousands of miles away and that I would be working 40s and it didn't happen for whatever reason...I'd be mad too.  Yeah, maybe it is only a couple of hours this week, but what about next week?  The precedent has been set, is it going to happen more on down the road at this place?  I'm glad to know this is going on, Hanford was one of those places I might have considered going; now it has dropped a couple rungs on my ladder of desire.  And, going house should have nothing to do with a basic promise of work conditions.  Sure people that are house get vaca, holiday pay and insurance, but you don't get to tell me initially I'll be working 40s and getting diem and expect me to stay very long after telling me to go house and I'll get my 40s.  Bait and switch. When I show up at a place and I get treated like that it is now a reason to leave whenever I please since one party has already blown their end of the deal....

[liam]

Okay, I can’t keep my fingers off the keyboard anymore.  I have been working at Hanford since August and I have enjoyed every minute.  The people I work with have treated me with respect and as an equal.  Am I rankled about not receiving pay for a few hours when the facility closed due to inclement weather?

The answer is yes and no.  The idea of paying union dues and not getting the same treatment as house techs does at first appearance seen unfair.  However, I am paid the same hourly wage as house techs and I get double time on occasion.  Moreover, I get per diem!  The facility closed early a couple of times for bad weather.  It also opened late for the same reason.  I am thankful that the management worries about safety enough to close down and get the people home before it is impossible to travel.  I am not going to complain about a few hours lost wages for time I did not work when I am getting enough overtime to compensate.  Besides, I think my safety trumps a few hours of pay.

I have worked at power plants that treated contractors as pariahs and second-class scumbags.  Here at Hanford I was welcomed into the group I was assigned; after three months I can truthfully say the people I work with seem like family.  The power plants were like families too, only dysfunctional to the nth degree.

So I look the Hanford gift horse in the mouth and see one little cavity.  That is not enough for me to want to stir the pot and get thrown off the horse.
 

[gonzo_4362]

Can anyone tell me how I can go about joining the Union?

[105KW]

Nomad,

Thank you for the info about the contract, that was what I was hoping to find out.

As for everyone else that says we are "whining" or "complaining", the fact remains that we pay union dues to the same union that house techs are in but are unequally represented for doing the same job. Either let us out of the union (which most of us would be fine with) or represent us equally. By the fact that you are an RCT I am sure you are smart enough to understand our frustration on this. Another poster was right in that you can post on here forever and it won't change anything. That was why I simply asked for some information from people that had dealt wiith this in the past.

Patriot,

You can always  go agency fee.  You don't HAVE to belong to the Union, but you still are going to pay a "'fee". The fact of the matter is you were hired under a  Memorandum of understanding ( MOU ) that sets up your employment outside of the contract.  That is just the way it is and will not change.  Different contractors at Hanford have different MOU's.   Overtime at Hanford is given out by overtime group. There are groups were the house techs see little if any overtime.  You have the misfortune of being in a OT group that has limited overtime for the amount of techs.  There are other groups that the roadies are making a tidy sum in overtime this year. You might try and work your way over there .Understand there are are 785 techs on site ( not including PNNL ) and everyone one would like to have more overtime. :-).

Just keep soaking up the free money and enjoy it while it last.

105KW

[105KW]

Can anyone tell me how I can go about joining the Union?

At Hanford you join WHEN you get hired.

[snowman]

You know, everybody is making fun of these people at Hanford for complaining about money and work they were told they were going to receive.  I don't care how much $$$$ per hour I'm making or how easy the work is.  If I was told to come to a place hundreds or thousands of miles away and that I would be working 40s and it didn't happen for whatever reason...I'd be mad too.  Yeah, maybe it is only a couple of hours this week, but what about next week?  The precedent has been set, is it going to happen more on down the road at this place?  I'm glad to know this is going on, Hanford was one of those places I might have considered going; now it has dropped a couple rungs on my ladder of desire.  And, going house should have nothing to do with a basic promise of work conditions.  Sure people that are house get vaca, holiday pay and insurance, but you don't get to tell me initially I'll be working 40s and getting diem and expect me to stay very long after telling me to go house and I'll get my 40s.  Bait and switch. When I show up at a place and I get treated like that it is now a reason to leave whenever I please since one party has already blown their end of the deal....

There's no bait and switch going on at Hanford, Ham Sandwich. Allow me to re-cap. There are times on that site that due to weather conditions beyond anyone's control that the powers that be elect to send "non-essential" people home early, have them come in a few hours late in the morning, or both. It's as simple as that. There's no conspiracy here with rent-a-tech HP's going on, every sub-contractor on that site that sends people home early has the option to not pay their employees for early release or delayed start. Some do, some don't. And we're talking about thousands of people, not just the 75-80 rental Hp's currently working at Hanford. It sounds like you folks just happen to work for people who won't pay you for hours not on site, and who sometimes play games with your per diem. Sorry.

Besides, this is all going to be a mute point here in a very short time because the rug is about to be pulled on this place and all the other DOE sites that received Obama bucks...it's coming to an end. The money is already gone at several of these sites.