USW atomic workers continue to negotiate strong contracts that keep them safe, provide for their families and empower their contributions to national security.
USW atomic workers take pride in fulfilling multiple missions.
They’re continuing to clean up America’s nuclear legacy, such as dismantling facilities that once enriched uranium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program and storing radioactive waste half a mile below ground.
But as the United States relies more heavily on cleaner, more sustainable energy sources, atomic workers also stand to play a pivotal role in building a more expansive and reliable energy supply.
Many are already skilled in the advanced nuclear technologies needed to develop safer, more efficient nuclear energy systems that will complement renewable sources like wind and solar.
USW members meet all of these challenges in an unusual bargaining environment at a handful of Department of Energy (DOE)-owned sites.
The USW negotiates with contractors at DOE facilities, but the DOE itself remains in the background, setting the parameters for negotiations and guiding contractors in their talks with the union. This indirect role can be challenging for atomic workers, who sometimes seek support from elected officials or apply pressure to the DOE when negotiations stall or fail to move forward.
Despite these complexities, USW atomic workers continue to negotiate strong contracts that keep them safe, provide for their families and empower their contributions to national security.
"Atomic workers also stand to play a pivotal role in building a more expansive and reliable energy supply."
BETTIS ATOMIC POWER LABORATORY
About 100 Local 10-5852 members at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory ratified a three-year contract in March 2024 that included raises totaling 13 percent, along with an increased boot allowance and other health and safety improvements.
Bettis also agreed to pay for up to four union members and two representatives of management to attend the USW’s Health, Safety and Environment conference.
The lab, a DOE site in West Mifflin, Pa., conducts research and develops nuclear power for the Navy.
HANFORD NUCLEAR RESERVATION
Local 12-369 members at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Eastern Washington won raises of 22 percent in a five-year agreement they ratified in August 2023.
The agreement, covering about 600 workers, featured a 15 percent pay increase over the first three years and an additional 7 percent over the final two years, along with improved health care benefits and premiums.
The USW members are among 2,400 workers at the site employed by four contractors: Washington River Protection Solutions, which handles tank waste; Central Plateau Cleanup Co., responsible for decommissioning and decontamination; Hanford Laboratory and Management Integration, which helps to manage the lab; and Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, which oversees the training center and site services.
PADUCAH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT
Workers for a number of contractors at the DOE’s cleanup site in Paducah, Ky., all ratified three-year contracts since the USW’s last convention.
The unit includes 629 workers split among three companies: the Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, Mid-America Conversion Services, and Swift & Staley.
The 461 workers employed by the Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership handle deactivation and decommissioning, overseeing site cleanup of nuclear and chemical waste. They are also responsible for maintenance and security.
In December 2022, Local 550-00 ratified a contract that included a $4,000 signing bonus and wage increases totaling 12 percent. Local 550-07 members, also part of the work force at Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, ratified their own contract in May 2024 with wage improvements and other enhancements.
Local 550-05 represents about 120 workers at Mid-America Conversion Services who convert DUF6, a co-product of the uranium enrichment process, into a more stable chemical form that can be stored or used. They ratified a contract in February 2023 with a $4,000 signing bonus and wage increases of 12 percent.
At the time this report went to print, about 50 Local 550-03 members employed by Swift & Staley were working to extend a contract that expired in 2020.
PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT
About 65 members of Local 689 at the Portsmouth site, a former gaseous diffusion plant in southern Ohio, ratified a contract with North Wind Dynamics in December 2024.
The group secured raises and an improved health insurance plan retroactive to January 2022. The new agreement runs until mid-December 2026.