Feds try to reassure lab workers about benefits
Officials respond to Livermore Lab employees' flood of angry complaintsBy Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 06/23/2007 02:39:01 AM PDT
Federal nuclear weapons officials tried calming Lawrence Livermore Lab workers Friday after word that new federal requirements could result in lower retirement benefits.
With dozens of angry employee phone calls and e-mails pouring into Washington, the National Nuclear Security Administration put out a statement reassuring workers that the agency "listens."
As a message, it fell short of a Clintonian "feel your pain" moment but was perhaps as close as a quasi-military bureaucracy comes to "trust us, we care."
Employees of the weapons lab are not in a trusting mood. On Thursday, they learned they must choose from two retirement plans, one of which is mandatory for all new hires and could result in 20 percent lower future retirement benefits than employees' current pensions administered by the University of California.
"I think everyone's in a real uncertain spot right now," said Sue Byars, a senior official in the Society of Professionals, Scientists and Engineers, a group running a union organizing drive at the lab.
The university's pension plan is one of the nation's largest and historically best funded. But the federal government is handing management of the lab over to a private partnership between the university and several corporations, with a requirement to establish two new, separate retirement plans for lab workers.
The National Nuclear Security Administration saidone of the plans had to cap benefits at no more than 105 percent of the market value for benefits for 15 research-intensive corporations such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, Northrop Grumman and AT&T.
Many of those companies have been cutting their benefits, widening the gap between the lab's new benefits package and what the university has been paying.
Executives for the incoming private management team, led by Bechtel National Inc. and the university, say they fear employees will perceive the lower benefits as a sign of the federal government's waning interest in the lab and its workers. Senior federal weapons officials tried to dispel that notion Friday and tell lab employees that the government cares about keeping Livermore full of talented scientists and engineers.
"Livermore National Laboratory is of vital importance to our nation's national security and all of the laboratory's employees are valued team members," said Thomas D'Agostino, the administration's deputy administrator over weapons work. "We are hearing employee concerns, ... and we will be responsive. We have an open process to receive questions and comments, and we are listening."
Contact Ian Hoffman at ihoffman@angnewspapers.com or (510) 208-6458.
11 comments:
Yes, and Bush is explaining that Iraq is turning the corner (again), Paulsen has called the bottom in the housing crash, and Cheney told us that deficits don't mater.
DOE and NNSA will now run the ol' "trust us, we care" ploy on you LLNL guys, same as they did out here at LANL. Expect to see NNSA townhall meetings with NNSA apparatchiks who seem to "listen". Tyler Przybylek was the NNSA "sweetie boy" that NNSA sent out here. They'll tell you how DOE would never let your pensions fail, etc. It's all BS. Don't fall for any of these sweet verbal promises.
You should be made as hell about all this and let them know it in no uncertain terms.
REMEMBER: If it's not written down in a LEGAL, BINDING DOCUMENT, it's totally worthless!
Sweet verbal promises will be meaningless when you get 20 years down the road.
As painful as they might be, this week's informative posts should be indicating to many LANL scientists that it is time to get out. It's only going to get much, much worse by this time next year. Start using your time at work to polish up that resume and search the internet job boards. Make those phone calls to network with any good contacts. Even if you're not yet committed to leaving, you should at least start preparing the path.
> "We are hearing employee concerns, ... and we will be responsive."
...and the response will be, "Tough Shit!"
"REMEMBER: If it's not written down in a LEGAL, BINDING DOCUMENT, it's totally worthless!"
Yeah, just like Bush and Cheney would never recklesly declassify anything. Just like you'll get your SS and medicare too. Full faith and credit baby. Bwahahahaha...
"Executives for the incoming private management team, led by Bechtel National Inc. and the university, say they fear employees will perceive the lower benefits as a sign of the federal government's waning interest in the lab and its workers."
They won the contract and they actually said this for the record? Too funny. I'll bet DOE/NNSA is real happy already. I guess I missed the article when LANS executives said that about LANL employees. Can someone post it?
A big difference between LANL and LLNL is that they are so close to Silicon Valley that most scientists can find alternate work without having to move. And most of the working staff should be able to find similar income if they so wanted to walk.
Actually from working with LLNL in the past, they had a hard enough time keeping people before because industry could outbid people LLNL wanted to keep everytime.
"A big difference between LANL and LLNL is that they are so close to Silicon Valley that most scientists can find alternate work without having to move. And most of the working staff should be able to find similar income if they so wanted to walk."
Sounds like a great theoretical supposition, but I'd be quite surprised if the older demographic of highly specialized nuclear weapons designers found it easy to find alternate work *anywhere*, much less in SV or Santa Fe, for that matter. Unless the definition of "alternate" is expanded to include, "Do you want fries with that?"
There is a price to be paid for having over-specialized, when the need for those special skills evaporate.
Better check out Newsweek - they are reporting 2 security incidents. The lost laptop and a category 1 classified email form someone in P-Div.
"...I'd be quite surprised if the older demographic of highly specialized nuclear weapons designers found it easy to find alternate work *anywhere*, ...."
A very reasonable point. But it misses the bigger challenge, which seems to be missing from DOE/NNSA as well. It's not "how do we retain the experience" but rather, how do you convince young, highly skilled technicians, scientists and engineers that they should become the NEXT generation of "highly specialized nuclear weapons designers", or computer engineers, or bio-scientists, etc , etc ... This includes the young(ish) folks currently at the lab and potential new hires.
What does LLNL now offer that can not be had working for a less regulated, less risk adverse company? Seems to me the entire concept from DOE has been "make the labs look just like any other job." Except, of course, that you’ll need a clearance, and you're under an oversight micro-scope, oh and there are no performance bonuses for the rank and file, and there will be no stock options or stock purchase plans.
Hmmm .. if I'm looking to do what is best by my young family where am I going to go? Do I choose the fractional increase in stability LLNL may offer or go with the much greater potential up-side of a wealth generating corporation?
In the past there was a bit of social contract with employment at the lab. Give up the chance at making it rich to come serve your country. In exchange, you will not get rich but you will have a comfortable living with a very nice retirement in the end.
This choice has now been narrowed significantly. I'll say again, DOE/NNSA seems intent, at a very basic level, on LLNL being just another job, and they are succeeding spectacularly.
Appeals to patriotism are all well and good and may work to a certain extent. Appealing to pride and the opportunity to work with the “best and brightest” may as well. In the end though, mortgages still need paid, kids still need college, retirement still beckons. And do you really want “the best and the brightest” worrying about the performance of their 401k as they set up the next test shot at NTS???
"And do you really want “the best and the brightest” worrying about the performance of their 401k as they set up the next test shot at NTS???"
What test shot? We haven't had the pleasure of setting up a real ol' fashioned test shot here at the NTS in almost 15 years. I still remember the good ol' days of waking up to the trailer shaking violently moments after a "big one" was fired off up on the mesa. Oh well, I'd better get back to my walker - time to change out the 78 on the record player....
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