Rent a tech Union debate

[Camella Black]

Camella, was it an informative article? I was at Davis Besse when this happened.I don't remember that much, not much went on there. We didn't walk, because we were union then. was the article worth the money?
JJ

JJ, I would post the article but they want $600 per year to post an article which has less than 500 words.

Key information I saw was that there were 3,000 "itinerant" techs at that time and the I.B.E.W. was seeking recongnition for us.

IRM was quoted as saying the "majority of us showed up for work" and only 3 plants were mentioned, Crystal River, Turkey Point and Hatch 1 where 90% of the techs stayed home.

Of course no one said anything about it causing problems but that bigger jobs were being shuffled around and time would only tell.

This article is one of my chief complaints about the past strike, lack of publicity and media contacts. I was nothing more than a small town freelance journalist who had written less that 2 dozen articles but I managed to contact the A.P. and attempted to get news out and I did manage to get coverage on WRDW which is an Augusta television station.

I actually fielded calls at home in Barnwell from news sources on the West Coast that had no idea if people were really striking elsewhere.

(Please note after careful consideration I posted this. I have been careful through the years as I did not want to cause undo problems for my family. I hope you all will remember that I am responsible for myself and my own actions.)

[Camella Black]

maybe tv stations don't save news articles on line.  cood it be due to residuals?  ennyweigh, i wuz at besse during da strike, in wuz calling every national news tv network for info.  they all told me there wasn't any strike.  they had no local stations at any nuke plant vicinity that had reported anything on the strike.

Hey, I'm sorry I wan't downing you. I appreciated the link. I was actually going after bigger fish - The Times. I should have been clear that I was disgusted by the lack of media coverage.



Peace, Camella

[SloGlo]

Hey, I'm sorry I wan't downing you.=

no ofence taken.  eye went back two sea iffen enny tv links where avaleible. alas.  tanks fer watt yinz did bak ina day.   

[remowil55]

It's not ever going to happen, end of story!!!!

[Brett LaVigne]

It's not ever going to happen, end of story!!!!

So I guess there it is...no longer a need to talk about it, Remo says it's not going to happen, end of story!!!!  We could have saved 24 pages of discussion!

Welcome back Remo, hope all is well.

[jjordan]

JJ, I would post the article but they want $600 per year to post an article which has less than 500 words.

Key information I saw was that there were 3,000 "itinerant" techs at that time and the I.B.E.W. was seeking recongnition for us.

IRM was quoted as saying the "majority of us showed up for work" and only 3 plants were mentioned, Crystal River, Turkey Point and Hatch 1 where 90% of the techs stayed home.

Of course no one said anything about it causing problems but that bigger jobs were being shuffled around and time would only tell.

This article is one of my chief complaints about the past strike, lack of publicity and media contacts. I was nothing more than a small town freelance journalist who had written less that 2 dozen articles but I managed to contact the A.P. and attempted to get news out and I did manage to get coverage on WRDW which is an Augusta television station.

I actually fielded calls at home in Barnwell from news sources on the West Coast that had no idea if people were really striking elsewhere.

(Please note after careful consideration I posted this. I have been careful through the years as I did not want to cause undo problems for my family. I hope you all will remember that I am responsible for myself and my own actions.)

Thanks camella,
You probably saved me a little money! This affected me as it did all of you, and i still remember! I still can't figure out who or why a walkout was initiated. that's not the IBEW's style. At least not now. maybe because it was a different regiem. I know right now, that a walkout would be the last resort, and probably would never happen. I can't seem to find out what happend to all of the cards we signed, and was there ever a hearing in front of the NLRB? I appreciate all of your posts, and you candor. I as well as you take full responsability for my actions and posts. There are few that will let their identity be known to the masses. Sometimes I don't always agree with you, or RDTroja, ect. But I especially respect your or  their difference of opinions, when they post by name! If we all agree on everything, then I guess this forum would be unneccessary.Well I see the nay sayers are active again! Never say never Remo.

[alphadude]

my info was from Nuke News 02/07 Training and Education pp36, more training providers will come on line and the output of techs is not linear its almost logrithmic. That 100 number is by the end of 2008. So 1/10 of the demand is fulfilled in one year-its not 100 per year but its 100 the first year of a new program that is expected to grow rapidly.  The following year should be around 150, and so that in 5 years 200 a year could be readily produced. There are 5 colleges now starting up. That is about 8 colleges nationally that will be turning out techs. I am starting RCT training as well as several other providers and so on....

This is an exact duplication of past events that occurred in the mid-80s. By 1991 tech pay was at its lowest, and the number available techs was at its highest. 

[jjordan]

I hear Ya dude! Does anyone else?
JJ

[cjking5406]

as a note of interest read the recent events under Bartlett..

FYI
An interesting article in the Feb nuke news sheds some light on the demand for techs. In the article it is stated that in the next 5 years a +57% loss of techs will occur and 1000 techs are needed to fill the void. Under the partnering aspects, 100 grads will come out of tech schools by 2008, then about 100 annually from then on out.

So again, if some actions are not taken, within about 6 years there will be another glut in the tech market and cost will drop (your pay).

I don't get this math.  Even if you're figuring 200 new techs per year, you must assume no future retirements.  The average age in the utility industry is 53. (this was reported by NEI at a conference last winter).  So even as the new techs enter the field, current EE's continue to retire.  More importantly, the point that I think needs to be made is that the wages will only increase if there is both a shortage and a demand from the workers.  The shortage is a known part of the equation, but the demand for increases by the workers is not.  I believe this is where a Union can help.  If you look at what has happened with Union Lineman's wages in the last five years, you will see a huge increase over typical workforce increases.  This is because there is a shortage and there is a concerted effort to demand increases.

I know there are many bad feelings from the Local 1500 fiasco back in the 90's.  I don't know everything that happened back then.  My impression is that the Local attempted to run a campaign that was both understaffed and untrained in how to run a campaign with nationwide consequences.  At the time, I was a recent hire by the utility (OPPD at Ft Calhoun).  I now work directly for the International and would welcome any e-mails on what went wrong with the 1500 campaign.  I would like them whether you are interested in organizing or done for life with the Union.  I have my own "lessons learned " file even in this job.  Please feel free to e-mail me any critiques on what should be done differently.  I will also get any information the International may have on the campaign.

IBEW has a presence in 2/3 of the nuclear plants in the US.  We have very active campaigns currently ongoing at 6 sites.  I've moved down to Brunswick for the next few months to coordinate activities in the Carolinas.  I believe that all workers benefit from being a Unino member.  The ones that benefit most are the ones that actively participate and hold thier Union accountable.  It's what made me a member.  I also have stated many times that contract techs are not keeping up (pay and beni wise) with the rest of the industry.  If you fell this is true, I would like to know what you see as the options for addressing this issue.

CJ

[thenukeman]

I will go with Remo and Batman End of story, Lucky this was not paper or we would have killed unneccesarily some trees.  I do not want to use my name or the union guys will send out their minions and punish me by breaking my knees, So i Say to this no trees no knees, no union.  Or as the Diceman used to say end of &@*^ story!!

[alphadude]

so who can retire from road tech benefits??? did we miss something - utilities will start their own apprentice program outside of this adding even more to the mix. Don't forget the RCT crossover which will add more techs- 2012 most of DOE clean up is about over with by then. 

[Brett LaVigne]

I will go with Remo and Batman End of story, Lucky this was not paper or we would have killed unneccesarily some trees.  I do not want to use my name or the union guys will send out their minions and punish me by breaking my knees, So i Say to this no trees no knees, no union.  Or as the Diceman used to say end of &@*^ story!!

I was being a bit sarcastic.  I am not in favor but I am open minded and keeping up with this post.  Me being against doesn't mean I can not be persuaded.  I just have not seen any compelling arguements to make me change my mind as of yet.

[Roll Tide]

That 100 number is by the end of 2008. So 1/10 of the demand is fulfilled in one year-its not 100 per year but its 100 the first year of a new program that is expected to grow rapidly.  The following year should be around 150, and so that in 5 years 200 a year could be readily produced. There are 5 colleges now starting up. That is about 8 colleges nationally that will be turning out techs. I am starting RCT training as well as several other providers and so on....

This is an exact duplication of past events that occurred in the mid-80s. By 1991 tech pay was at its lowest, and the number available techs was at its highest. 

Not an exact duplication. New construction was basically done in 1991, so the construction crews were all rolling into outage and house competition.

IF (yup, it's that huge two-letter word again) the number of plants does not change (or even worse we lose a '69 model or two; Oyster Creek is still in a battle) by 2011 then we will not be as understaffed. But we should know by the end of next year which new plants will be built over the next few years.

There may be more RCTs cross over to commercial nukes. Didn't the government say it will be done by 2013? Surely it won't run long...

[alphadude]

ok its not an exact science like flux mapping- but close enuff for govment werk. rates will stay the same with changes made to accomodate cost of living etc. 

[thenukeman]

AlphaDude is correct I think about 600 DOE Techs will come in in the next 5 years.  I have already seen some coming in since, Fernald, Rocky Flats, Mound are about closed and there has been a big cut in Oak Ridge.  A 200 I guess have come in the last few years.  I doubt these would want a union.  Seeing how they worked at the plants they are from.

[DJ@Retired]

Everyone on this site would agree on one thing. We all have different opinion about unions. That's were the companies have the advantage.  They have a ruler. Who tell them the way it is. That strength. A union would not fix everything but would give you a voice. But a union would only be a strong as its members. If you had a bad experience with a UNION then there member's voices out ruled you. A union is for all not for one. So when I read about a certain person who had a bad experience. I feel bad for that one person who might have gotten a bad beat. But I'm humbled by the fact that many others who are protected and have a good paying job because of the union. A union is not a perfect thing. I admitted that it's a work in progress. But its better then what a contractor's have now. When you come to Clinton you are Union. You are one of us. We are one of you. I would like to see our deal that we have for are contractor work force go nation wide. With Fed per Diem rates paid at the maximum level. Bonuses protected. Safety equipment provided and work rules in forced. Vacation and holiday paid off or at a premium. It could happen. Would everyone be happy?  Sadly No. But those people could go to management.  This could be a win for RP technician's nation wide. It starts with a need, then a want and then hard work. I'm willing to help. Do you want the help is the question? Is there a need or a want?

[alphadude]

you are describing local conditions. a few miles down the road the weather changes

[nowhereman]

AS we have no union at this point, we are stuck with what bartlett wants........is that what we want? I don't think so.......how about a graduated pay scale?  say a .50cent raise for every 1000 hours worked (Don't tell me that would to hard to track, some resumes for certain utilty's already  have the hours worked in the left hand column)

how about a standard training program, you would get paid for continuing training, (not stuck in a corner with 5 procedure books for 10 tech's) you think INPo and the NRC would like to standardize the training, rather than a Jr Hp stuck in a corner reading a procedure book and self study.

these are not outlandish requests, they would seem to be more of a requirement.....
the utilties and Bartlett are ducking their responsibilties for proper training.......
Since when did we start to have to take meter reading tests?
Thats a sad sign, that we need meter reading tests, esp. when you want a pay raise....
"Yea, I want a pay raise, because I passed the meter reading test.........." Tis sad....

[ramdog_1]

I am happy how it is ,, but that is me.

[DJ@Retired]

I would ask for a training and apprentice program, Retirement by points, 401k matching. Decon classification, paid medical, Travel in and out pay. Safety equipment paid. Eye medical paid. Alara incentives.
Paid vacation 2.5 days vacation for every month of work and yearly dues or pay as you go.  What would you guys like to see in a contract?

[Joe Ferguson]

eye medical paid and alara incentives?  the issue and topic is not about writing a contract, it's about creating a national local.  oh, by the way, it would be for tech's that are not a member of the IBEW already.

[justme]

No senority or other lists, freedom to choose where your resume is submitted.
Less redundant testing, ie take NUE once pass with 80% or above, never have to take again as long as you are in field.

[jjordan]

Ahhh what a difference a little time makes!!! A lot of the wishes that have been psoted are very possible. There are contract companies that would be happy to sign agreements. the IBEW is having a national convention in Vegas at the end of the month. It would be really nice if we could tell them that the contractors would like to start an organizing campaign.
JJ

[B.PRESGROVE]

Just two cents worth, but what makes people think that things are any different?  Age dont change people from what they think. (especially when it comes to money and power)  I know several folks in the IBEW here locally and I would have to say no thanks.  They dont garuntee anything, they dont pay very well, and what happens when there is no work?  Just like with any other union it depends on contracts.  Many of yall now have the choice, but leave it to a union to make that for you?  Thats like asking the government to manage your social screwity.  No thanks.  Been in a couple in my early years,  .

[Rennhack]

No senority or other lists, freedom to choose where your resume is submitted.
Less redundant testing, ie take NUE once pass with 80% or above, never have to take again as long as you are in field.

Are you serious?