Labor-management relations

Most of the Department of Energy's research and development activities are carried out by contractors at government-owned facilities around the country. One such facility is the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, which contains nuclear research facilities and spent waste recovery plants on more than 890 square miles in southeastern Idaho. Between November 1977 and October 1978, the laboratory experienced several work stoppages that resulted in about 7,000 staff days of lost work on construction projects. After several years of effort, the unions and union contractors signed a Site Stabilization Agreement in 1984 that contains a no-strikes/no-lockouts clause and establishes wages, fringe benefits, and working conditions for construction work at the laboratory. This briefing report provides information on contract awards, wage rates, and hiring procedures under the Site Stabilization Agreement. Nonunion contractors have complained that the Agreement puts them at a disadvantage by requiring them to go through union hiring halls and, in some cases, make double payments for certain employee benefits. Their reluctance to bid on DOE contractors may reduce the level of competition, thereby resulting in increased costs for taxpayers. Also, questions may arise about whether the wage rates required under the Agreement and the alleged union practice of allowing contractors to charge lower wage rates for private construction outside the laboratory are in the best interest of the government