well get ready augusta ,if flour has anything to do with it ,they will be replacing the employees with illegal mexicans.
AIKEN --- Savannah River Site will soon be under new management.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday that Savannah River Nuclear Solutions LLC, a coalition that includes Fluor Corp. and Honeywell International Inc., was selected as the management and operating contractor for SRS.
The only jobs likely to be affected are those of about 100 senior managers with the current operator, Washington Savannah River Co., according to DOE spokesman Jim Giusti. Washington Savannah River Co. had also bid on the contract.
DOE asked that employees receive benefit and compensation packages similar to those offered under Washington Savannah River Co. management, Mr. Giusti said.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions will oversee about 7,000 employees under the new contract. The $800 million-a-year contract continues through December 2012, with a five-year renewal option through 2017.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions is a limited liability corporation that also includes Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. (a Northrop Grumman company). The team includes subcontractors Lockheed Martin Services Inc. and Nuclear Fuel Services Inc.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions will begin the transition Jan. 24 and take over by April.
"First of all, the next three months will be about learning about the people and the site," said Chuck Munns, the CEO of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. "Employees should feel comfortable about where they are and where they're going. They'll continue to do their job and do it safely. We'll keep focused on what they're about right now."
Washington Savannah River Co. will remain at the site operating the Liquid Waste Management contract, which is up for bid this year.
The SRS management and operating contract is the first awarded as part of DOE's strategy to increase the number of prime contracts on the site as it focuses on cleanup and specific missions.
Washington Savannah River Co. has operated at the site for 18 years.
"The only thing we can say is we're extremely disappointed," said Jack Hermann, a Washington Savannah River Co. corporate spokesman. "We assembled an exceptional team with a proven track record for everything that's critical to the site. We're eager to meet with DOE to better understand what was behind their decision and what are our options going forward."
Reach Julia Sellers at (803) 648-1395, ext. 106, or julia.sellers@augustachronicle.com.
CONTRACT DETAILS
- $800 million-per-year contract through December 2012
- Option to renew contract for another five years through 2017
- 90-day transition to new management begins Jan. 24
- Most current employees will remain in place
MISSION AREAS
Environmental cleanup: Management of spent nuclear fuel, nuclear materials and non-high-level radioactive waste; deactivation and decommissioning of excess facilities; and remediation of soil and groundwater. Support of the DOE national security and nonproliferation programs.
Operation of Savannah River National Laboratory: Supports departmental environmental cleanup, energy security and national security missions.
National Nuclear Security: Operation of the tritium facilities, completion of the plutonium disposition program and disposition of highly enriched uranium.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Comments
well get ready augusta ,if flour has anything to do with it ,they will be replacing the employees with illegal mexicans.
Bechtel and WGI have done an exceptional job running the Savannah River Site getting award fees well above what DOE gives most other sites, so why switch from a winning team? The DOE is playing politics here and messing with employee's lives that have been productive employees for SRS for many years.
The article sounds like the employees will for the most part not be affected doesn't it? BS, read more closely, it only says that DOE asks the new company to provide similar benefits. How about all of the people that have spent most of their most productive years of their working lives out there and have been vested in the SRS pension plan? If they get a similar, but not the same, pension plan, they start over from scratch and at 55 years of age, I am too old to start over. DOE has become a callous and bureaucratic agency that discards it's most faithful and productive people after so many years of service.
I didn't see much indication that srs employees would have to find a real job!
Peppernik, you obviously have never worked for the government or any of it's entities. If you think our jobs are not "real jobs" then you are very much mistaken. I have worked, either for DOE/DOD or contractors to DOE/DOD for over 36 years. I hope you NEVER have to have a "real job" that is as stressful and intense as I have had. Working for the government DOES NOT mean we sit on our behinds and do nothing. It DOES NOT mean we draw a salary that is higher than the normal pay for what we do. The knowledge a Nuclear Engineer has to have is far more than the local convenience store clerk has and he/she is paid accordingly. I am sick and tired of people like you thinking we do nothing at SRS. We do far more than you will ever know. Worried about my job, yes. I too am in my 50's and it will be very hard to start over, but I will if I have too. That's another thing about us, we don't WHINE when things get tough (at least most of us don't), but we do expect to be treated with the dignity and respect that we have earned with our work ethics and our dedication. You need to GET A REAL LIFE!
Congratulations to the whole crew of SRNS (Savannah River Nuclear Solutions)! I know you're going to do great things for SRS and the CSRA! ...Augusta/Aiken, these folks are the cream of the crop!
elpi must be the head of fluor daniel - haha
Bravo Grits. I'm retired from federal service. Only an arrogant corporate loser who has had no experience with government contracting or actually working as a civil servant in a democracy would make idiotic remarks like peppernik. The biggest mistake the federal service has ever made is contracting out too many jobs to high priced private sector lackies and getting nothing for it. By the time DOD is fully contracted out to Blackwater it will be too late. The country will be bankrupt, totally fascist, and you can kiss personal safety goodby.
and Just Wondering must work at the landfill in Columbia, SC....
jc, you hit the nail on the head. Most private sector employees do not realize how many hours we spend working. They don't realize that our jobs are not usually 9-5 and weekends off. Most of us work 60-70 hours per week and unless you are a non-exempt employee, that OT is not compensated. I'm sorry to see Washington Group leave, but I'm sure the new group SRNS will bring new and fresh ideas as well as friendly faces. The first thing I learned long ago was that as a governement employee on contract, I was only 30 days away from my last paycheck. These corporate guys also forget that if the Federal Budget is approved, we have to stay home. That has happend many times in my career.
As one who has worked in the Nuclear Industry for about 30 years, and for the DOE for the last almost 20, people like peppernic have no clue of the sacrifies made - and the job we do. Since I came in with Westinghouse, I was not there during the Dupont days, and do not know the changes made - and the impact of that change. Hopefully there will be no real great impact. I do know that lots of dedicated Bechtel people will moving on with Bechtel, and they will be missed, as well as (some) of the other "high-level" management. We who stay will just have to make sure our "back yard" is kept clean (like we have been doing), we keep on doing our tasks at hand, and that we take care of our personnal safety and of those around us in this transition. As for me, keep my paycheck coming, let me do my job, and I'll keep on doing my job.
If you have a question about how the Site is run, or what wages buy the public, don't just whine. Go to a CAB meeting and learn about it. The Citizen's Advisory Board can fill the gaps in your knowledge about what we do out there in a way you just can't get from newspapers.
If you think someone is being paid too much, just listen to what a wise man once told me: "If you think you can do the job better, or you want to change how it's done, then take that job." Complaining about other people's money is best done to yourself, because you're in charge of what you make.
So. We take the most vile substance on Earth and boil it. Then we concentrate it and mix it with glass. Come on out and do that; jobs do open up out at SRS now and then, so if you think you're not being paid enough...
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