Letter to the Honorable Steven Chu, U.S. Department of Energy

Letter

Congressman Bill Johnson (OH-6) today announced that he has signed a letter with Congresswoman Jean Schmidt to Energy Secretary Steven Chu asking for information regarding transferring pension plans for workers at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon.

March 28, 2011

The Honorable Steven Chu
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20585-0001

Dear Mr. Secretary:

We write regarding the transition of the workforce at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio to new contract for surveillance and maintenance and decontamination and decommissioning (D&D).

On March 29, 2011, Fluor-B&W Portsmouth, LLC (FBW) will assume D&D responsibilities at the Piketon Plant. We are concerned about decisions at the Department of Energy (DOE) that will result in a lack of of continuity of benefits for the workforce. Our understanding is that the LATA/Parallax Portsmouth employees transitioning to FBW will remain under the government sponsored multiemployer pension plan whereas the USEC employees will remain outside the government sponsored plan and will come under a new system of benefits. The employees who seem to be the most adversely affected by this situation are USEC employees who are closest to full retirement under the USCEC's system of benefits, which mirrors that offered by government sponsored plans.

Continuity of benefits has come up before at our site, and, in the past, the Department of Energy (DOE) administratively addressed this issue to ensure workforce cohesion. Our understanding is President Obama has also expressed interest in ensuring worker benefits are consistent and portable for employees transitioning to new site missions. We agree with the President because treating the workforce with consistency will result in a more efficient and safer clean-up effort. D&D will involve disposal and removal of highly contaminated and dangerous substances. The disparity in worker benefits is already splintering the workforce before the work even gets started. Fixing this problem will result in a stronger team and a team that is more likely to get the job done efficiently and safely/ AS it has been demonstrated at the other DOE clean-up sites, expedited clean-up saves billions of dollars in the long-run. A unified team will save money.

Is it possible for the DOE to allow USEC employees, who choose to do so, to go back under the government-sponsored multiemployer pension plan with retirement health benefits? Is this is possible, what is the cost of doing so? Could such costs be paid for by expedited completion of D&D or as a part of the DOE workforce pay freeze restructuring?

The enclosed letter highlights this issue and might be useful to you. We would appreciate your response to out letter ad would welcome any comments you might have about the enclosed letter from Mr. Bobby Graff, President, USW 689.

We respectfully request your assurances that the DOE will do everything it can to carry out the President's pledge to the Piketon Plant workforce to ensure all of the employees are treated fairly and equitable;e as they transition to new site missions. WE stand ready to work with you to promote as smooth a transition as possible.

Sincerely,

Jean Schmidt
Member of Congress

Bill Johnson
Member of Congress

Source