MORGANTOWN — Some union workers employed by a contractor at National Energy Technology Laboratory’s Morgantown site say they are being ill-treated by their employer and their union – as they face layoffs or possible pay cuts if they remain employed.
They work for USSE2, which supplies a variety of support services at NETL, and are represented by United Mine Workers of America Local 1717.
The Dominion Post spoke to employees, the union and the employer regarding the concerns the employees conveyed. We agreed not to disclose the names or positions of the employees out of their concern they might face reprisal or lose a callback opportunity.
USSE2 is a joint venture of two companies: US&S,which specializes in an array of support services, and E2, who are engineering consultants. Its $99 million, five-year contract expires at the end of March.
A new joint venture, WE2, has been awarded the new five-year contract. WE2 combines E2 with a different service company: WFS, Waseyabek Federal Services. Program and business managers for the current venture are being retained for the new venture.
USSE2 employees said about 10 of the 55-member workforce face layoff in the transition. Some may be called back. The layoff was supposed to take effect March 31, when the employees would be walked off site. But they report, they’ve been placed on administrative leave and are now not allowed back on site.
They list several grievances against USSE2 and its successor. One, they have to reapply for their jobs – which is not atypical – but in the process they lose their job descriptions, which subjects them to reclassification and potential lower pay.
The Dominion Post was made privy to a string of emails among employees and a union official where one employee described it this way: “How about how adamant the company is to keep job descriptions out of the contract. … The company wants the ability to post a job while tailoring the job bid with qualifications to only meet the individual who they want to have the job. This completely undermines the bidding process and our seniority.”
Several employees said they see the layoffs as a way for the new joint venture to improve its profits by trimming the workforce while receiving the same government revenues. One said, “The problem is that the new company is not hiring us to try and get more money from the government, and in this time of need I feel like the company does not care who gets hurt to get it.”
They noted that USSE2 already trimmed five jobs during the past year through attrition, choosing not to refill vacant posts.
The “time of need” referred to is the coronavirus pandemic. One comment summarized the thoughts of several employees expressed in phone and email interviews: “How are you supposed to get a new job during this pandemic?”
Employees also reported that USSE2 is not offering COBRA health insurance to those laid off. COBRA is a program that extends healthcare coverage to workers who lose their jobs or get laid off.
The Dominion Post spoke with USSE2/WE2 Program Manager Dane Anderson, who declined comment.
Union issues
Employees said that their contract, negotiated by the local, contains seniority and bumping rights that aren’t being enforced. “There’s guys that are being laid off that would be able to bump other people to keep their position and they’re not allowing it.” As said above, they believe the company is hand picking who stays and goes and the union is doing nothing.
One employee said this happened previously, when USSE2 won its contract and those who remained through the transition lost their severance pay and suffered job classification downgrades.
One said, “So what’s the point of the UMWA representing them if they’re not even going to stand up for their rights, which they took an oath to do?”
Several employees mentioned that the union undermined them in one area where the employer as being generous. It was offering buyouts to senior employees, allowing the posts to be filled with new, lower paid replacements. The union stopped that saying this altered the contract and amounted to private dealing outside the contract.
One commented, “You’re going to enforce that with our agreement but you won’t enforce our bumping rights and seniority?”
Coinciding with the transition from USSE2 to WE2, the contract between Local 1717 and USSE2 expired March 25 and union members approved a new one with the new employer by a 69% majority, according to the union.
But union members said they were coerced into conceding to the various losses described above under the threat that they would lose callback rights if they opposed it.
The Dominion Post attempted unsuccessfully to contact a union official on the local issues, but that official’s comments were included in the email string obtained by The Dominion Post. The Dominion Post approached that official about using the comments but received no response.
For fairness we quote the official at some length.
“You are twisting the facts for your view only. … We must remember that the paths of legal and moral very seldom cross and the companies exercised their legal rights, plain and simple. Also, until you’ve set in on a contract negotiation, especially in these times, no one will ever know how hard it is to retain what we already had. Negotiations are about giving and taking, no one gets anything for free and everything is on the table, not just what we want. If you want to vote it [the new contract] down and go into the new company without a contract in this day and age, so be it. … If you want to secure your wages, health care, vacation, bereavement, working conditions and other benefits, you need to vote accordingly. No scare tactic, just facts.
Finally, The Dominion Post contacted union officials at the district and international level and was referred Phil Smith, UMWA’s director of communications and governmental affairs.
Smith replied at length in an email exchange: “As you may know, our members there [at NETL] are employed by contractors, not the federal government itself. When contractors change, which they frequently do there, we have to negotiate a new contract.
“I should point out that the new contractor is under no obligation to hire any of the workforce back and that hey always have to reapply for their jobs when a new contractor comes in. If there is any injustice here, its that the federal government won’t hire these workers directly instead of constantly seeking the lowest bidder to do this work.
“We are never happy when any of our members face layoffs. … The membership at Local 1717 had a right to vote on the new contract and it passed with 69% of the membership voting in favor. They had the final say in this matter.”
Tweet David Beard @dbeardtdp Email dbeard@dominionpost.com
