OFFICE OF WORKER AND COMMUNITY TRANSITION
July-August 1995
WORKER AND COMMUNITY TRANSITION WORKSHOP
The Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Worker and Community Transition
plans to hold its third national stakeholder's workshop on September 13-15,
1995, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This meeting will address the progress made
on the issues and challenges identified at the last stakeholders meeting held
in Denver, Colorado, on April 20-21, 1995. The upcoming meeting will be held
at the Pinnacle Hotel Four Seasons in Albuquerque.
We are in the process of forming a planning committee to assist in the
development of the meeting agenda. This committee will convene via
teleconference to discuss the meeting format and topics. If you would like
additional information on the planning committee or the national stakeholder's
workshop, please contact Laurel Smith at (202) 586-4091.
We look forward to your participation at the upcoming workshop in Albuquerque.
WORK FORCE RESTRUCTURING PLANS
OAK RIDGE DRAFT WORK FORCE RESTRUCTURING PLAN RELEASED FOR STAKEHOLDER REVIEW
On July 14, 1995, the Department of Energy released the Oak Ridge FY 95-96
Draft Work Force Restructuring Plan for stakeholder review and comment. The
plan addresses an anticipated reduction of up to approximately 900 jobs.
However, with the uncertainties surrounding FY 1996 and 1997 budget levels, it
is possible that the actual number of impacted jobs could be significantly
higher when the budgets are clarified. Based on review of stakeholder
comments, a final plan will be submitted to DOE Headquarters for approval to
submit to the United States Congress.
APPROVAL OF THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE WORK FORCE RESTRUCTURING PLAN
On Monday, July 24, 1995, the Secretary approved for transmission to the
United States Congress the FY 1995 Work Force Restructuring Plan for the
Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina. The plan covers a reduction of
4,185 positions at the site as a result of cuts in the Department's
Environmental Management program budget, as well as initiatives to increase
cost effectiveness and efficiency in operations.
Under the plan, 269 workers elected to participate in an early retirement
program and 2,096 were accepted for a voluntary separation incentive program.
Involuntary layoff notices were provided to 271 permanent employees of
Management and Operations contractors. An additional approximately 1,100
subcontractor, support service contractor, craft and temporary positions will
also be reduced under the plan.
All affected employees will receive outplacement assistance. Qualified
involuntarily separated workers will receive hiring preference by the
Department, and will receive severance pay according to their company
policies. The Department intends to work closely with the community to
promote programs designed to facilitate community economic transition.
The plan was developed with extensive stakeholder consultation including
attendance at public meetings by over 3,000 stakeholders, submission of 1,400
questions through electronic mail, and provision of 325 formal comments. A
number of changes were incorporated in the original draft plan as a result of
stakeholder comments.
APPROVAL OF THE NAVAL PETROLEUM RESERVES WORK FORCE RESTRUCTURING PLAN
On July 28, 1995, the Department of Energy approved for transmission to the
United States Congress the FY 1995 Work Force Restructuring Plan for the Naval
Petroleum Reserves in California. The plan covers a proposed
reduction-in-force of up to approximately 230 positions at Bechtel Petroleum
Operations, approximately 32 percent of the current work force. These
reductions are necessary in order to achieve improved operational efficiency
reflecting prevailing practices in private petroleum operations, consistent
with Federal laws and regulations, and Departmental policy.
Under the plan, 194 applications were accepted for a voluntary separation
incentive program that provides for enhanced severance pay. Minimum severance
pay under the program is $10,000. The Naval Petroleum Reserves was granted
permission beginning August 1, to issue notices of involuntary separation to
approximately 40 employees.
All qualified separated employees will be offered extended medical,
educational and outplacement assistance. The Department intends to work
closely with the community to promote programs designed to facilitate
community economic transition.
The total cost of the Plan is estimated to be $6,492,650, with an average cost
per separated employee of $28,228. It is estimated that $13 to $15 million in
annual savings will result from these reductions.
LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY DRAFT WORK FORCE RESTRUCTURING PLAN
RELEASED FOR STAKEHOLDER REVIEW
On July 28, 1995, the Department of Energy released the Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory Draft Work Force Restructuring Plan for stakeholder review
and comment. The plan addresses an anticipated reduction of approximately 150
positions by the end of Fiscal Year 1995, and acknowledges that anticipated
reductions in FY 1996 budgets may make it necessary to adjust the plan. Based
on review of stakeholder comments, a final plan will be submitted to DOE
Headquarters for approval to submit to the United States Congress.
WORK FORCE RESTRUCTURING ANNOUNCEMENTS
REDUCTIONS ANNOUNCED AT PRINCETON PLASMA PHYSICS LABORATORY IN ILLINOIS
On Thursday, July 20, 1995, the Department of Energy's Chicago Operations
Office announced that the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory will reduce up
to 90 full-time scientific, technical and administrative positions by the end
of the fiscal year. These reductions reflect a $19 million decrease in the
Laboratory's funding, as contained in the President's proposed Fiscal Year
1996 budget. Congress is considering additional budget cutbacks which would
result in further reductions at the Laboratory.
DOE, in conjunction with Princeton University and the Management and Operating
contractor for the Laboratory, have developed proposals aimed at lessening the
impacts of these reductions on affected employees, consistent with the
Laboratory's contract and Departmental work force restructuring policy.
Reduction plan components include a voluntary separation program with enhanced
severance benefits and a voluntary reduction-in-force that will affect
technician and support staff in skill areas affected by the budget decrease.
Voluntary programs will be implemented prior to any involuntary actions. DOE
and Laboratory policy also provides preference, in order of seniority, to
displaced non-exempt workers, in transferring to other Laboratory positions
for which they are qualified. In addition, on-the-job retraining will be
available for employees placed in other Laboratory positions.
The voluntary reduction-in-force program, the Laboratory's severance program,
tuition assistance, and outplacement assistance will be used to assist
employees and alleviate any economic impact to the community. The Laboratory
will also undertake other initiatives, where possible, to reduce the need for
additional layoffs.
VOLUNTARY SEPARATION APPROVALS
APPROVAL OF VOLUNTARY SEVERANCE PAY AT OAK RIDGE
On July 14, 1995, the Department of Energy approved a request to provide
severance pay to Management and Operations contractor employees who agree to
voluntarily separate, if doing so would avoid the necessity for an involuntary
separation. The draft plan outlines actions the Oak Ridge Operations Office
intends to take to minimize the impacts on employees and the community,
including outplacement assistance, displaced worker health benefits,
relocation assistance, continuing educational or retraining assistance, and
voluntary reduction-in-force separation programs.
INVOLUNTARY SEPARATION ANNOUNCEMENTS
INVOLUNTARY SEPARATIONS ANNOUNCED AT ROCKY FLATS
Beginning on Tuesday, June 27, 1995, 60-day notices of involuntary separation
will be issued to up to approximately 700 individuals at Rocky Flats
Environmental Technology Site in Golden, Colorado.
The need for these reductions was announced on February 8, 1995, and result
from cuts in the Department's Environmental Management Fiscal Year 1996
program budget, as well as initiatives to increase cost effectiveness and
efficiency of operations. Identification of positions to be eliminated is
based on a work force analysis to match available skills with present and
future mission requirements.
The number of involuntary separations has been reduced through acceptance of
voluntary separation incentives by 948 workers. Qualified involuntary
separated workers will receive contract severance, and will be offered
extended medical coverage, education, relocation and outplacement assistance.
Workers receiving involuntary separation notices will remain on the payroll of
the outgoing Management and Operations contractor, EG&G Rocky Flats, Inc., for
the duration of the 60 days notice or until they find alternative employment.
Upon receipt of the notice, workers will be assigned to the Off-Site Career
Assistance Center. A full description of benefits provided to involuntarily
separated employees is contained in the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology
Site Work Force Restructuring Plan dated August 1995.
INVOLUNTARY SEPARATIONS ANNOUNCED AT RICHLAND
On July 28, 1995, the Department of Energy announced the planned involuntary
separation of up to approximately 65 employees of MAC Technical Services and
its teaming subcontractors at the Richland Operations Office.
Affected involuntary separated employees will receive regular contract
severance consisting of one week's pay for each year of service, to a maximum
of 10 weeks pay. They will also be eligible to utilize the career transition
center at Hanford, and for education and relocation assistance. Qualified
employees will also be eligible for preference in hiring. Consistent with
Departmental policy, they will not be eligible for Displaced Worker Medical
Benefits, but will retain eligibility for continued health care coverage under
COBRA.
INVOLUNTARY SEPARATIONS ANNOUNCED AT OAK RIDGE
On July 31, 1995, the Department of Energy announced the planned involuntary
separation of up to 222 employees of Lockheed Martin Energy Systems at Oak
Ridge, Tennessee.
Qualified involuntary separated employees will receive Displaced Workers
Medical Benefits under the draft work force restructuring plan. All
involuntary separated employees will also receive regular contract severance
and be eligible for education, relocation and outplacement assistance.
INVOLUNTARY SEPARATIONS ANNOUNCED AT NEVADA
On August 3, 1995, the Department of Energy announced the planned involuntary
separation of up to approximately 700 employees of Reynolds Electrical and
Engineering Company (REECo) at the Nevada Operations Office.
As a result of recent programmatic changes with the transfer of current
contract work from DOE/Nevada to the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization
Office and the Department of Defense, the Nevada Operations Office will issue
involuntary notices to approximately 700 REECo employees. This will increase
the total number of involuntary separations under the plan to 940 and increase
the total number of separations under the plan to about 1,470. It is
anticipated that the successor contractors will hire the majority of these
separated REECo employees.
Approximately 625 of the affected REECo employees are construction crafts who
will be eligible for education assistance if not hired by the successor
contractors. The balance of the affected REECo employees will receive
contract severance and will be offered extended medical coverage, education,
relocation and outplacement assistance if not hired by the successor
contractors.
INVOLUNTARY SEPARATIONS ANNOUNCED AT MOUND
On August 8, 1995, the Department of Energy announced the planned involuntary
separation of up to 80 EG&G employees at the Mound Plant in Miamisburg, Ohio.
The employees will be given a minimum of two weeks notice for separation on or
about August 31, 1995.
Qualified involuntary separated employees will receive Displaced Workers
Medical Benefits under the work force restructuring plan. All involuntary
separated employees will also receive regular contract severance and be
eligible for education, relocation and outplacement assistance.
INVOLUNTARY SEPARATIONS ANNOUNCED AT LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY
On August 15, 1995, the Department of Energy announced the planned involuntary
separation of up to approximately 100 employees of Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory in California.
On June 30, 1995, the Oakland Operations Office announced a reduction-in-force
of 150 positions by the end of the fiscal year. More recent analysis
indicates that expected reductions will be approximately 120.
On July 28, 1995, approval was provided to exercise contract authority that
provides that Lawrence Berkeley employees who volunteer to separate will
receive severance pay. A total of 20-30 employees are expected to volunteer
under this program.
As a result, the Manager of the Oakland Operations Office has requested
approval to issue involuntary separation notices to up to approximately 100
employees, although it is expected actual layoffs will be in the range of
80-90. The laboratory plans to begin issuing notices of involuntary
separation on August 16, 1995, but no such notices will be issued until after
closure of the voluntary window for affected classifications and review of
applications against work force requirements and EEO criteria.
All involuntarily separated employees will receive regular contract severance
and be eligible for relocation, training and outplacement assistance.
Qualified involuntarily separated workers will be eligible for preference in
hiring. Consistent with University of California policy, Displaced Worker
Medical Benefits will not be provided, but COBRA coverage will be available.
WORK FORCE PLANNING
Since its inception four months ago, the Work Force Planning Committee made
great strides in the development of a Department-wide contractor Work Force
Information System (WFIS). Phase I of the reporting consolidation effort, the
information baseline, will be operational by October 1, 1995. The baseline
incorporates all currently existing contractor payroll and personnel records.
Phase II of the WFIS will involve the identification of work force information
system requirements to meet future contractor work force planning needs. In
order to accomplish this objective, three subcommittees are being established
to develop a framework for responding to future contractor work force planning
needs. The three subcommittees will focus on the following areas: WFIS
requirements, work force planning projections and work force planning
performance measures. The first meeting of the WFIS Requirements Subcommittee
will be held on August 24th. The two remaining subcommittees will convene
shortly after the WFIS Subcommittee is underway. A Board of Directors is
being established to provide a mechanism for reaching consensus on these
issues in a decisive and meaningful way.
For further information, please contact Deborah Swichkow at (202) 586-0876.
COMMUNITY TRANSITION
The Community Transition Team is issuing their first edition of a monthly
information sheet to the members of the Community Transition Working Group
(CTWG). The purpose of this document is to provide another medium besides the
monthly teleconferences to distribute information, ideas, and comments among
the members in a timely fashion. Material to share will be contributed by
both community representatives and DOE personnel. The approximate date of
publication each month will be about the third week of the month so it is
received approximately midway between the dates of the teleconferences.
LABOR ISSUES
STATUS OF LABOR UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Brookhaven - The negotiations between the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers (IBEW) and Brookhaven National Laboratory concluded prior
to the expiration of the contract on July 31, 1995. The contract covers 520
workers in diverse classifications. The union membership voted 249 to 67 to
ratify the contract.
Argonne - Service Employees International Union (SEIU) members continue to
work without a contract, following expiration of collective bargaining
agreement in early June. The parties have made some progress and plan to
return to the bargaining table during the week of August 14.
Idaho - No new progress has been reported in resolving the privatization issue
that was brought up while bargaining for a new collective bargaining agreement
between the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union and Lockheed Martin.
Earlier agreements expired in late May. Efforts are underway to try and
resolve the privatization issue as well as renew the collective bargaining
agreement.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY M&O CONTRACTOR EMPLOYMENT
The attached table documents M&O contractor employment reductions that have
taken place, since September 30, 1994, or are anticipated to be completed by
the end of the FY 1995 at selected sites. The table illustrates that more
than 12,000 M&O contractor separations will have taken place through
mid-August with only approximately 20% of separated workers leaving
involuntarily. An aggregate figure for expected subcontractor reductions at
selected sites is also included. All of these separations are involuntary.
The remaining 1,700+ employees are expected to be separated in the last three
months of the fiscal year. The mix of voluntary and involunary separations
for these workers is yet to be determined. (For a copy of the M&O Contractor
Employment table, please contact Laurel Smith at 202-586-4091)
Office of Worker and Community Transition Contacts
Director: Bob DeGrasse 202-586-7550, FAX 586-8403
Acting Deputy Director: Steve Marlo 202-586-7550, FAX 586-8403
Program Communications: Pat Parizzi 202-586-7550, FAX 586-8403
Worker Transition:
Terry Freese 202-586-7550, FAX 586-8403
Lew Waters 202-275-7058, FAX 275-7080
Work Force Planning:
Deborah Swichkow 202-586-7550, FAX 586-8403
Labor Relations:
Lyle Brown 202-586-7550, FAX 586-1540
Kathy Skrabut 202-586-7550, FAX 586-8403
Deborah Sullivan 202-586-7550, FAX 586-1540
Community Transition:
Deborah Swichkow 202-586-7550, FAX 586-8403
Bob Baney 202-586-7550, FAX 586-1540
Mike Mescher 202-586-7550, FAX 586-1540
Public Participation: Laurel Smith 202-586-4091, FAX 586-8403
Work Force Restructuring Field Contacts
Felix Ortiz, Albuquerque Operations Office 505-845-4207, FAX 845-4715
Elaine Kocolowski, Chicago Operations Office 708-252-2334, FAX 252-2919
Luella Bennett, Idaho Operations Office 208-526-1913, FAX 526-5969
Bob Agonia, Nevada Operations Office 702-295-1005, FAX 295-1876
Bill Truex, Oak Ridge Operations Office 615-576-0662, FAX 576-6964
Harry Printz, Oakland Operations Office 510-637-1829, FAX 637-2008
Ken Briggs, Ohio Field Office 513-865-4267, FAX 865-4312
Dom Sansotta, Richland Operations Office 509-376-7221, FAX 376-5335
Lenora Lewis, Rocky Flats Office 303-966-4263, FAX 966-3321
Dave Hepner, Savannah River Operations Office 803-725-1206, FAX 725-5968
Gil Gilyard, Savannah River Operations Office 803-725-1544, FAX 725-7631
Pat Lillard, Kansas City Area Office 816-997-3348, FAX 997-5059
Alan Goetz, Pinellas Area Office 813-541-8114, FAX 541-8370
Gene Gillespie, Portsmouth Site Office 614-897-2001, FAX 897-2982
Jimmie Hodges, Paducah Site Office 502-441-6800, FAX 441-6801
COMMUNITY REUSE ORGANIZATION MEMBERS
ETEC - Energy Technology
Engineering Center
Bonny Matheson-Capobianco, Chair
Los Angeles Community Reuse Organization
c/o Valley Industry and Commerce Association
21600 Oxnard St., Suite 410
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
(818) 888-2228
(818) 716-2780 (FAX)
HANFORD
Linda Hymas
TRIDEC
901 N. Colorado St.
Kennewick, WA 99336
(509) 736-0629
(509) 735-6609 (FAX)
IDAHO
Dan Cudaback, President
East Idaho Economic Council
591 Park Ave., Suite 302
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
(208) 522-2014
(208) 522-3824 (FAX)
LOS ALAMOS
Jim Greenwood, Chairman
Los Alamos County Council
Los Alamos Economic Development Corporation
P.O. Box 715
Los Alamos, NM 87544
(505) 662-0001
(505) 662-0099 (FAX)
MOUND
Mike Grauwelman
MMCIC
P.O. Box 232
Miamisburg, OH 45343-0232
(513) 865-3921
(513) 865-4431 (FAX)
NEVADA
Tim Carlson, Executive Director
State of Nevada Commission on Economic Development
555 East Washington, Suite 5400
Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 486-2700
(702) 486-2701 (FAX)
OAK RIDGE
Tom Rogers, President
East Tennessee Economic Council
1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
(615) 483-1321
(615) 483-1678 (FAX)
OXNARD
Steve Kinney, President
Greater Oxnard Economic Development Corporation
711 South "A" Street
Oxnard, CA 93030
(805) 385-7444
(805) 385-7452 (FAX)
PINELLAS
Andrew H. Hines
Pinellas Plant CRO
Triangle Consulting
150 Second Avenue, North
Suite 1600
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
(813) 894-1100
(813) 822-0914 (FAX)
PORTSMOUTH
Steve Carter, Economic Development Director
Ohio Valley Region Development Commission
740 2nd St., Room 102
Portsmouth, OH 45662
(614) 354-7795
(614) 353-6353 (FAX)
ROCKY FLATS
DeAnne Butterfield, Executive Director
Rocky Flats Local Impacts Initiative
5460 Ward Rd., Suite 205
Arvada, CO 80002
(303) 940-6090
(303) 940-6088 (FAX)
SAVANNAH RIVER
Lewis Attardo, Executive Director
Savannah River Regional Diversification Initiative
P.O. Box 3077
Aiken, SC 29802
(803) 593-9231, ext. 1403
(803) 593-4296 (FAX)