Y-12 union workers approve contract extension, 2.5 percent raise

Hourly union workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex have ratified a 14-month contract extension and 2.5 percent wage increase, an official said.

The extension goes into effect April 22 and lasts through June 20, 2014, said Steve Jones, president of the Atomic Trades and Labor Council, which represents 14 international unions.

The contract extension applies to roughly 1,100 union members at Y-12. It will not affect ATLC members at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

There is no change to worker benefits under the extension.

It could carry the workers through a transition from B&W Y-12, the current managing and operating contractor, to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, which has won a five-year consolidated contract to manage and operate Y-12 and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

Union members voted on the contract extension and wage increase on Friday at the International Association of Machinists Local 480 on East Lincoln Road.

Jones declined to comment on the margin of victory, but he said more than half of the union membership voted.

The contract extension has been recommended by the union officers and negotiating team.

The National Nuclear Security Administration had authorized B&W Y-12, the plant’s managing and operating contractor, to negotiate with the ATLC.

“Our primary goal is to ensure the stability of the Y-12 work force during an upcoming transition to a new contractor,” said Steven Wyatt, public affairs manager for the NNSA Production Office in Oak Ridge.

The existing ATLC contract has been in effect since 2008. It was set to expire June 22.