From today's Washington Post: Guards Go on Strike at Nuclear Weapons Plant
More than 500 security guards at the nation's only nuclear weapons assembly plant walked off the job just after midnight yesterday to protest what they said is a steep deterioration in job and retirement security since the government changed fitness standards for weapons-plant guards in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The contractor at the plant, BWXT Pantex in Carson County, Tex., replaced the striking guards with a contingency force that it says will secure the plant's weapons, nuclear materials and explosives as long as necessary. The issue is not confined to Pantex because guard union leaders at other weapons plants also are raising concerns about the new security requirements, which they say will force many older guards out of their jobs.
more after the fold
First some background from Wiki:
The Pantex plant is America's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility and is charged with maintaining the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility is located on a 16,000 acre (65 km²) site 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Amarillo, in Carson County, Texas. The plant is managed and operated for the United States Department of Energy by BWXT Pantex and Sandia National Laboratories. BWXT Pantex is a limited liability enterprise of BWX Technologies, Honeywell and Bechtel Corporation.
There has been some problems at the plant. See: DOE/NNSA Cites BWXT Pantex for Price-Anderson Violations
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) notified BWXT Pantex that it will fine the company $110,000 for violations of the department’s nuclear safety requirements. BWXT Pantex is the contractor responsible for managing and operating the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, the country’s only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility.
Today's strike, though, was not directly related to the safety problems mentioned above. Today's problem is related to new regulations for security guards that are being enforced.
The new regulations:
The shift requires more guards to be highly skilled shooters and to meet offensive, as opposed to defensive, fitness standards, which include running a mile in 8 1/2 minutes and a 40-yard dash in 8 seconds. They also must wear bulletproof vests and carry rifles throughout their 12-hour shifts, which together weigh about 40 pounds, according to Pantex Guards Union President Robert Lynch, who said this poses a problem for middle-aged guards.
The Department of Energy is enforcing those new rules on many of it's sites, the Pantex plant is simply the first to feel the impact.
Now the guards make $20.00 an hour and get regular overtime, so the yearly average is about $72,000.
The union is trying to make a deal:
Lynch said the union is not questioning the need for higher security but wants the contractor and the department to provide guards a career path similar to that of federal law enforcement officers who can move into less physically demanding positions as they age. He said many older guards cannot meet the fitness standards and are taking janitorial jobs inside the Pantex plant, for much lower pay, to keep their medical coverage.
The DOE:
Glenn Podonsky, the Energy Department's chief of health, safety and security, wrote in February that the department recognized that the new security policies could hinder the guards' career paths and that their pensions were not comparable to their federal counterparts'. In a letter to Mike Stumbo, president of the National Council of Security Police, Podonsky said he and others in the department would "explore courses of action to address longevity and retirement options."
Hmmm... To me that sounds like bureaucratic gobbledegook, not an attempt to make a deal. "Security and safety are paramount at Pantex, and they will not be compromised regardless of any circumstances," said Bryan Wilkes, spokesman for the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration. "Both safety and security will continue to be consistent with the conditions that existed prior to the guard work stoppage."
hmmm...You can replace the security guard force for Pantex Nuclear Weapons plant that quickly? I won't believe it. There will be a period of confusion as the new guards learn their job... who knows what might happen? (china: what a wonderful way to introduce some new assets into the US nuclear program...)
A mediator has been attempting to settle the disput. But... all he can do is put a 14 day "cooling off" period. That period starts today.
thank you for reading
jeff