LLNL - The True Story -

that this BLOG has been created. It was intended for anyone impacted by the privatization of the Lab to express their opinions and expose the waste, wrongdoing and any kind of injustice against employees and taxpayers by LLNS/DOE/NNSA. My co-authors tried their best to serve as impartially as we could and at the same time follow some basic rules. I have seen more anger in this BLOG than anywhere else. I would like to encourage contributors to steer away from repeated negative comments regarding LLNS/NNSA/DOE and whoever else. I feel we have seen enough anger and insult. The more negative we remain, the faster we sink! Someone in upper management is reading this BLOG and cannot take us seriously if all we do is insult them (They know they screwed up, still do and dont want to hear it every day). We stand a better chance of being heard by expressing our point of view as calm, collected and intelligent colleagues. not as angry people They will listen to us. It is time to shift gears upwar...

Anonymously contributed: Where will this end up? USA: layoffs Russia: "Russia to work on new nuclear missiles: Medvedev" http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BN10O20091224

Anonymously contributed: RHWM laid off 9 employees today; ftes and flex terms; More to go after the first of the year to cover a 3 million dollar screw up by rechtel. MERRY X-MAS FROM THE RECHTEL BOYS

On Dec. 8, the NNSA Livermore Site Office (LSO) released the Performance Evaluation Report presenting its assessment of our Laboratory’s performance for fiscal year 2009. The specific objectives, measures and targets we are judged upon are set out in the Performance Evaluation Plan (PEP) for each fiscal year. I am very pleased to report that we earned ratings of “outstanding” in mission and “good” in both operations and institutional management. In addition, Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) was awarded a one-year extension of the contract to manage the Laboratory. The contract between NNSA and LLNS was for seven years, extendable for up to 20 years in one-year increments based on performance. The “outstanding” rating for mission reflects our many achievements in applying science and technology to meet critical national security needs. Among the accomplishments cited by the LSO in support of this top rating were the completion and dedication of the National Ignition Faci...

A Gift I’ll Cherish Over the past three and a half years I have had the privilege to get to know and work with some of the finest men and women that I have ever met. Starting with George Miller and emulating out to all of you, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is truly the best and the brightest. That I had the opportunity to come here and participate in the Lab’s endeavors is a gift that I will always cherish. I am disappointed that I am leaving before we have completed the work we have collaboratively started when you welcomed me into the Lab family in October 2007. The nature of our work often requires that the nation’s needs subsume personal desires. The Department of Energy has determined that I am needed somewhere else. However, my departure should not be reason to slow down on the many good things that are currently under way. Baseline budgeting, improving service delivery methods and ISMS are just a few of the things that will continue to improve operating efficiency ...

Anonymously contributed: Frank Russo is leaving LLNL.

Anonymously contributed: Subject: DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE TO LAB EMPLOYEES E-LINE: A Message to Laboratory Employees From The Director Several local newspapers carried a story this morning with the headline: Laboratory Hides the Cost of the Colossal NIF Laser. The claim in the story is that the overhead charges for the NIF project and the National Ignition Campaign have been inappropriately low. This is incorrect. I'd like to tell you the facts. As is the common practice for many Department of Energy construction projects, NIF uses a construction overhead charge that ensures that the project pays for the Laboratory-wide services that it uses and requires. There are two reasons for this: -- It is important to ensure that the overall finances of the host institution are not distorted as the project initially grows and then declines. This ensures that the true cost of the project is properly reported. This is why the NIF and the NIC pay directly for services that are otherwise paid fo...

Anonymously contributed: As reported by this article in the Contra Costa Times

Interesting opinions at http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Lawrence-Livermore-Lab-Reviews-E35235.htm

Anonymous said... There is an email circulating to APS members asking the APS to reconsider its statement on climate change in light of the "Climategate" release of internal correspondence of members of IPCC. The lab is in a central position because of its long standing program to compare in an objective way the various models of climate. I wonder whether the lab is just reacting or seriously looking into whether any of its work might have been influenced by possible "filtering the data". See this link: Open Letter on Global Warming December 4, 2009 2:57 PM

Anonymous said... Man loses suit vs online pharmacy Maybe those online prescription drug sales aren't so nifty after all. December 3, 2009 5:17 PM

Anonymous said... Latest rumors about LLNL/LLNS... December 5, 2009 7:18 AM

Anonymous said... Highlights from the Parney presentation today: 1) He looks a lot like George M. 2) He can't be bothered to reorganize GS even though PMC rates are through the roof due to excessive managers 3) He doesn't think we should care about criticism that we are too expensive 4) He claims LLNL is excellent in all technical areas across the board, instead of pledging to stem the growing mediocrity and attrition of excellent technical staff 5) Rather that talk about accomplishments he is proud of in his career, he made disparaging remarks about his former employers DHS and DARPA 6) He gets lost a lot at LLNL (mentioned this about 4 times) December 3, 2009 8:59 PM

Anonymous said... Okay children, listen up. How's 1.5% to distribute, retroactive to Jan 1st, 2010 _NOT_ Oct 1st, 2009, and NO raise cards to be distributed. However on Feb 18th you'll be able to log onto LAPIS and see how much you're worth. LLNS not only made millions of dollars by delaying your raises by three months but they "did you", with one big stroke of the pen. Assuming I got the max of 1.5% it still was not enough to cover my increased cost for medical and state tax. This has been three years in a row so no wonder my disposable income at the end of the month has been diminishing. Do you think LLNS is telling us all a story here? Still want to give LLNS 100%? -- I DFTS. December 3, 2009 5:25 PM

Anonymous wants to know if an average of 1% raise motivate you to excel.

http://my.auburnjournal.com/detail/135482.html

Anonymously contributed (title added by BLOG moderator): Check out this Wall St Journal article http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125910876247663245.html

Anonymously contributed: Why does LLNL senior management bother with the appraisal and salary management charade when the management process costs much more than the managed funds dispensed? How much effort will a 200 really put in for the wonderful 1% average reward, when medical and tax increases take most? Why try indeed. Consider that the full LLNS fee annually exceeds by four times the amount of the whole professional annual salary increase package. Nice, huh?

Anonymous said... Big cuts in store for Livermore By Jeanine Benca Contra Costa Times 11/20/2009 LIVERMORE — Street signs will be repainted less often, police response to non-emergencies will be slower and library hours will be fewer under a staggering proposal to scale back city services. Across-the-board reductions are needed to fill an unanticipated $3.2 million deficit caused by statewide sales tax dips and other factors, Livermore officials said. The city council will discuss the city manager's financial update and recommended cuts Monday. "We've been able to weather the storm for quite some time without layoffs or service reductions," said assistant city manager Troy Brown. "Unfortunately, we're to the point now where we're having to have difficult discussions." The recession has already taken a toll on city coffers. Since 2008, Livermore has lost some $8.7 million in sales tax, property tax and other revenues. Until now, creative accounting me...

According to employee survey.... or are they? Post from LANL Blog

Anonymous said... Russia continues to modernize its nuclear triad November 19, 2009 2:57 AM

Anonymous said... IBM uses Blue Gene supercomputer to model neural behavior of a cat brain. Of all the things DOE could do with that class of computer, you would think that someone would come up with a better project than that. November 18, 2009 7:16 PM

Anonymously contributed: This blog is overwhelmed by negative comments. While any of us could certainly join in on everything from our indefensible overhead rates to stifling computer security craziness, it gets old after months and months and months! So if you need to rant, go do it in some other post. Here I challenge actual LLNL employees to say something positive about the place we all work. I'll start: I actually enjoy my work at LLNL. Yes, you heard correctly, I get to work a great group of scientists, recognized in our field, perform cutting-edge research, publish papers, attend professional society meetings, and have access to some great equipment. Especially compared with what some of my colleagues are going through at the Universities (cuts and furloughs) the lab remains a great place to do science.

The word on the street is the LLNS is desperate to build morale. I don't think this is just a rumor either. Many departments have created "blogs" to find out what employees are thinking and now, there is the employee blog. Sorry, no need to provide a link, because you have to be on-site to get to it! No sense posting to it, because my guess is it's overly censored (you do have to sign in with your OUN to reply to any of the posts). I do see that the administrator of the LLNS blog is actually a poster on this blog - see, management is indeed reading this blog! I heard that several departments had some type of a morale committee, but that they were disbanded when the committee members had no morale themselves. I do like the posting here where someone said that working at LLNL gave them a sense of pride. Our current management has deflated almost all of the pride any of us ever had. Me, I'm just plain emotionally drained. The article in the news where it says th...

Bruzer said: Did Anyone else read in the "Daily Clips" Monday, that between Sandia & LLNL they will be hiring 500 employees due to the expected number of employees that will be naturally retiring? I think what really is going on is they just now figured out they laid off too many outstanding employees and won't have the correct talent available come 2012!!!

Project On Government Oversight article

Anonymously contributed: I'm a retiree- took the buyout, such as it was, because I figured that even tho LANS people got twice as much, that was the best we could expect, and I didn't want to "go down with the ship" that used to be called LLNL. I received a letter dated 11/6/09 from LLNS signed by Art Wong that states the letter sent by Hewitt "incorrectly stated that .. enrollment ends on Nov 6, 2009." He states it is open until 11/20/09. Q. The letter does not give costs, does anyone know how to get those? There was an article in the local paper that said the same thing, and the reporter asked Hewitt about the error. Hewitt's response sounded like: Well, it was correct for other programs we handle, and NO they were not going to correct their error. Maybe LLNS should contract with someone to manage our health care who cares about doing a good job? Or restore the good in-house HR dept. that once did this?

This post is a comment under the post "How long will he last?". I am moving it here in the hopes that ULM (or their intelligence) see it and are reminded of the problem. I thought it sums up the fundamental problem of LLNL --- scooby -- You have raised a very significant question regarding the success of outside managers. In my 30 years at the Lab, many of which were spent in WFO programs, I am not sure that I have seen any. On the other hand, I have seen numerous failures. The underlying problem is that LLNL is not structured for WFO success . Part of the problem is internal, part is due to the DOE bureaucracy. The Lab is basically a weapons design lab. It is the best in the world in that mission, but that mission is dying. If the Lab is ever to be successful in the WFO arena, we need to overhaul DOE or move the Lab out of that management. We cannot devote hundreds of millions of dollars to nonsense bureaucracy--IWSs, AB, etc. When we had a real enemy, political pressures ke...

Anonymously contributed: Here is what Miller and Liedle make Liedle: $867356.00 Miller $441891.00 go to the RECOVERY.gov to see for your self.

Anonymously contributed: The lab is showing no favoritism at all. The broadcast of Michelle Obama's visit to the Department of Energy headquarters today (Nov. 5) will not be aired on Lab TV. DOE could not locate an accessible satellite to carry the broadcast. WFC?

Anonymously contributed: I wonder how long he will last.... Penrose Albright, former Homeland Security Secretary, named Global Security leader at Lawrence Livermore By Physics Today on November 5, 2009 LIVERMORE, Ca — Penrose. C. "Parney" Albright, former Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, has been named the Principal Associate Director of Global Security at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Albright will join the Lab on Nov. 30, Director George Miller announced. The Global Security Principal Directorate applies multi-disciplinary science and technology to anticipate, innovate and deliver responsive solutions to complex global security needs, from energy and environmental security to domestic security and nonproliferation. "Parney is extremely well qualified to assume responsibility for Global Security, an area of critical importance to our Laboratory as well as the country," Miller said. "He is internationally recognized for his ...

Anonymously contributed: Check the facts about the flu vaccine at: factcheck.org

Anonymously contributed: A while back, I posted about the swine flu, and asked people to do some research on the subject. Blogmaster, thanks for posting it. I hope someone paid attention. Most didn't. For those of you who saw the movie 'V', it is now time for us to sit down and have a little chat. Since I last posted, your bill of rights has been taken away, the Emergency declaration and level 6 has trumped it. Meanwhile, 500,000 are under mandatory vaccine attack in NY, and many people are leaving the state as the court battles go on. In Mass, impeachment for the governor is underway, for treason. The story is much bigger than just s seasonal shot. Just stay informed, don't go quietly into the night! links: youtube: "Finland's Health Minister Blasts Swine Flu BS" -Ukraine under bio attack. -swine vaccine hidden in seasonal flu shot. tons more, just get away from the mainstream media and poke around!

I took a look. Too bad my post never got posted.

Another anonymous letter to Dr Chu: Dear DR.Chu, Ask George about the glove box explosion at 695. Ask him about th 60 lbs of explosive that where dropped at site 300 Aske him about the gas leak at 241 wich would have resulted of the building blowing up Ask him about the Be contamination at 298 and 321:which resulted in personell who are now dying of chronic Be disease Ask him how LLNS spent 10 million on trees and grass after Bechtel ran the place into the ground. But most of all ask George what bechtel is doing to keep the lab safe and secure for the 70million a year they are getting in pay.

Anonymously contributed: Dear Dr. Chu, Welcome to LLNL. Look closely. Too bad it isn't what you expected. Ask George why he thinks costs are going up only 4%,when his pricing tools show 10%. Ask him if Russo and Liedle serve him as well as Kuckuck and Mara served Anastasio. Ask his why he degraded engineering from two strong independent departments to a single weak job-shop. Ask him why his people are so demoralized. Ask him why he put a 150% tax on travel costs. Ask him what DoE get from Bechtel for $40M per year? Where is the new accounting system, where is the promised project management system? Ask him why he lies to his employees so regularly. Ask him why the Bechtel business operations folks make declarations without bothering to leave their offices to see how things work. Ask him how he can retroactively bill sponsors for rate increases for work that was contracted for at a lower rate? Ask him why he hasn't aplogized publically for the "substantially equivalent in t...

I expected B123 to be overflowing! I expected dozens of questions! I expected the contributors of the "open letter to Dr Chu"s to be there to ask the questions, didn't you?

I was laid off due to the ISP. Unable to find work I have taken another job at LLNL at half my old pay. To my shock my old departments org chart is as big as it was before the ISP. LLNS has filled all the laid off workers positions with matrixed engineering people. I have the proof! How can they do that? What happened to callbacks? Is anyone looking into this? Does DOE provide any oversight for LLNS and if so who can be contacted?

Anonymously contributed: Hey, how about those new medical plan premiums? I'm a UC retiree forced to have my medical benefits provided by LLNS, and my premium is going up almost 50% next year (and benefits are being reduced). Add to this the fact that UC retirees from "other campuses" continue to enjoy the same benefits that they always received from UC (way, way better than ours), while we Lab types bite the big one again. I know some retirees are organizing and perhaps planning to sue, but I'm afraid that won't pan out, or at least it won't be resolved any time soon. It's a travesty, I tell you. We, who put in all those years in support of the Lab, the University, and the COUNTRY, we who were instrumental in the country's defense and helped win the Cold War, are being sold down the river by DOE, NNSA, UC, and the Bechtelians. Legal or not, it just isn't right, and it smacks of discrimination to me. George (and the rest of you ULM Bechtelian suck-u...

Anonymously contributed: No pun intended! There were some people fired at NIF for mismanagement. Finally, someone had the courage to clean house. If this is done on a larger scale, in other directorates, some managers will have an incentive to rise above mediocrity! The good old boys culture (scratch my back and I will scratch yours) is beginning to crumble!

Anonymous contribution (edited): Two things came out of G.M.'s all hands today that were pretty significant. One is that UC will be asking LLNL employees to contribute to the UC retirement fund to help cover lab retiree annuities. The other is that DOE/NNSA is thinking about raiding the LLNS defined benefit fund to help solve underfunded defined benefit plans of other national labs.

Anonymously contributed: Last week GM revealed that the Lab's operating budget for FY10 is expected to be $100M or so less than FY09. Not only is this bad for the real programs, but it means the indirect (overhead) budget will be less also, since there is less money to tax. Since GM has promised to avoid a layoff this year, does this mean (1) IAP and flex term employees need to update their resumes, (2) buyouts look possible, (3) NIF will have to pull its own weight, or (4) CFO can follow the Obama example and spend more than it collects?

I'm a typical LLNL employee. I came to the lab about a decade ago as I was convinced by a friend (maybe not such a friend) to come work here. I went through the interview process, then the "seemed to take forever" hiring process. Nine months after I was hired, I finally received my security clearance - It seemed like a long time to take considering I had a DoD TS at my old company. I was quite happy with the benefits provided by UC even though they did not provide "stock options" as did my old company. I did the math and figured that I could retire a 60 quite comfortably without having to stick about 8% of my pay in the old 401K. Not having to contribute to the 401K meant I had more spending money - something my family really needed for the move to California. I found over the next few years that LLNL had way too many rules and doing any kind of work was VERY expensive and took way to long to get anything done. I worked on one project that the paperwork ju...

Contributed anonymously and moved here, as its own post from the "look in your mail box" post: What is it about Business Operations that makes it the enemy of those of us trying to get work done? 1. Higher medical costs,and higher deductibles and copays so they can give more fee to LLNS? 2. Cheating employees out of benefits, such as dumping medicare age retirees? 3. Being unforgiving of mistakes? 4. Retroactively raising mnapower burden rates after long after contracts with sponsors have been signed because they can't do arithmetic. Then forcing that engineering employees families to pay the bill as the employees have to work harder, with less support and much longer OT hours and longer to get contracted work done: again so that Business Operations metrics are made so Frank and senior management can make their bonus? 5. Increasing the burden rates on personnel by 15% in one year. 6. The fact that none of the Business Operations Division Leaders and above have even worked...

Anonymously contributed: Everyone look in your mailboxes because coming soon, in a big white envelope, is more good news pertaining to our benefits. Once everyone has some time to do the math I suggest we open up a new post pertaining to the subject. I gave it a once over after a couple glasses of my favorate beverage and decided perhaps a better frame of mind was needed before getting serious about the increases, after all is said and looking at my glass as half full, the only good thing that comes to mind is we still have some choices. We may not like them but they are choices! FEELIN bruzed again all over!!

Please read the article and don't forget the anonymous contributor's comments below it: Las Vegas Review Journal October 7, 2009 Test site will get name change Revision to reflect its 'expanded mission' Keith Rogers Congress set out to modernize the mission of the Nevada Test Site and eventually change the name it's had for the past 57 years with Senate passage Tuesday of the defense authorization bill. The 93-7 vote sent the measure to President Barack Obama with an amendment by Nevada's senators that charges the head of the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration with "renaming the site to reflect the expanded mission." That "expanded mission," according to the amendment by Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., will focus on developing methods to verify treaties and reduce nuclear security threats "while continuing to support the nation's nuclear weapons program and other national security p...

Hopefully, this will be a trend: Short article from: http://dirtdiggersdigest.org http://dirtdiggersdigest.org/archives/815

Anonymously suggested: Dave Leary, one of the last true UC folks!

Anonymously contributed: NNSA Press Release LLNL de-inventory project moves ahead Oct. 1, 2009 The National Nuclear Security Administration on Wednesday announced that the Laboratory has removed about two thirds of its special nuclear material requiring the highest level of security protection. LLNL has completed shipments to five different receiver sites, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Nevada Test Site, the Savannah River Site, Y-12 Security Complex, and the Idaho National Laboratory, since the de-inventory project was initiated in October 2006. These shipments were completed in full compliance with existing safety and environmental laws and procedures. All federal and receiver site requirements were met for these shipments. “The removal of two thirds of LLNL’s nuclear material demonstrates real progress and is the result of some very hard work,” NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino said. “NNSA continues to make tremendous strides in transforming a Cold War nuclear weap...

Anonymous asked: Does anyone know if the DOE is planning mandatory swine flu vaccinations? On the drudge report it states that all DOD military and important DOD civilians will be mandated (forced) to take it. NY is mandating it for 500,000 people. MA is working on forcing it for all citizens. If you go past the media reporting, the story actually gets interesting. Do your own research.

I've heard this from a few people (who may have heard from the same source) that LLNS is making changes to TCP1. The rumored change is that your retirement salary will no longer be based on your highest 3 years of salary, but will instead be based on your last 3 years of salary. Has anyone else heard this and is there anything written as proof?

Anonymously contributed: I viewed the safety video discussing the fatal accident earlier this year. A few things to note: Russo makes the statement that "they" are looking at maybe having less pickup trucks and maybe having "Smart Cars". No explanation was forthcoming on why the accident may have been due in any part to the vehicle being a pickup truck. And I am curious, what is a smart car? Is it something along the lines of the car not being able to be started without the seatbelt being buckled? If I recall properly, Detroit tried that and it failed. But if the lab wants to lay off a few hundred people to provide the funds to retrofit seat belt disconnects in the fleet of cars I'm sure LLNS will jump at it if it enhances the chance of a bonus. The majority of the video was centered on the use of the seat belt. I have absolutely NO argument about that. We should all be using seat belts. Perhaps with the issuance of tickets to enforce the law requiring the use o...

Thanks to the 74 people who participated! 11 people said yes 42 people said no 28 people said don't care, it is just a paycheck We want to hear from the first two categories as to why?

SPSE newsletter for sep 09

Anonymously contributed: I'm hearing bonus checks in lieu of pay raises to compensate for salary decreases that'll occur during ranking and job comparison to your counterpart outside LLNL. Some will be saved and others will take pay cuts. All this came out on the LLNL blog during the transition and no one believed it. Compound this reduction in pay with increased taxes and Obamacare and you'll be feeling the pain.

Anonymous wants to know: I was wondering if people would recommend starting a career as a scientist at llnl right now. Is there any benefit left over going to private industry?

Well, I was asked to give my supervisor an update of my PA input to reflect my doings for the past couple of months. I did so, but I kept wondering "why bother?". We all know that the folks at UC actually took a pay cut (OK, LBL was excluded - but our "substantially equivalent in the aggregate" is for UC - NOT LBL). My thinking is we'll be lucky if we don't take a cut, much less get a raise at all. However, where you rank may be more important than you think. Most companies (for profit or not) choose the "poor performers" or those in the lower 10%-20% of the performance appraisals. So, maybe ranking is important. Who knows?

Anonymously contributed: I'm now officially a "dead man walking" thanks to LLNS. I'm retired and have serious health issues. Recently I got a call from my pharmacy. My prescription refills were rejected by my health insurance. The reason was a new contract recently signed by LLNS with the insurer requiring all long-term prescriptions be filled by mail. There are significant doubts about these mail-order pharmacy's ability to safeguard medical history, whether they will try to distribute substandard medicines, or even if the medicine will arrive in a timely fashion thanks to often inept Postal Service. Some may think mail-delivery pharmacies are fine. But the choice of whether to use them or not is gone now. When the other prescriptions run out I WILL NOT switch to mail-order. That will kill me eventually and the blood will be on George Miller's hands. See you in hell you blank!

This post has been anonymously sent and is not intended to start a rumor: I have heard through inside information that possible layoffs of FTEs is coming this January does anyone have any info about this?

The following is an excerpt of an anonymous comment made elsewhere in this BLOG. It is being made a post for higher visibility. Warning: Whiners who are still employed by LLNS: this may be too much for you to handle and the hope is that it will make you more thankful: Folks, I sadly hear so much anger and bitterness, such whining and crying here EVERY time I visit...and the majority of blogger's ARE still 'gainfully' employed!! Whether or not you like your 'new boss's, you ARE still able to pay their mortgage, you CAN pay your bills, the luxury of even being able to go out for breakfast, lunch or even dinner, get a haircut, buy groceries...go to a movie, pay for you son or daughters college! YOU have the 'privilege' of going to work everyday. YES, transition IS hard, change is painful, UNEMPLOYEMNT IS WORSE!!! Count your blessings you STILL have a job, some form of retirement still accruing, able to have medical, dental and vision plans....15 months later I ...

Barrack likes him... http://www.nnsa.energy.gov/news/2512.htm

Contributed by XXXXXX (real name pending approval) Read: http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20090828_5013.php I love the part: "Not only are we working every day to improve our aging infrastructure, but as a large percentage of our work force is approaching retirement NNSA needs to be nimble and creative to make sure we're getting America's brightest to join our ranks as new employees." I never thought of NNSA and Nimble being used in the same paragraph, let alone the same sentence. Now NNSA and nincompoop, those are two words I can associate in the same sentence. All I can say is god bless you Mr. D'Agostino. You're going to need some help from above to attract America's brightest. Average benefits, inane rules that add no real benefit, urine testing, polygraphing and an administration that is not really supportive of the mission. Yup, I see the best and brightest beating a path to the DOE weapons complex.

Anonymously contributed: Am I the only one to notice the number of women in management at the Lab is shrinking under LLNS. The southern good old boys brought in to run LLNL do not take kindly to women in key leadership roles. I feel like we're heading back into the stone age. I expect a sex discrimination lawsuit anytime now - and as a guy who has been at the Lab almost 30 years and seen this all before, I think it would be justified.

From the LANL BLOG: By John Fleck, Albuquerque Journal Staff Writer The Obama administration has abandoned a controversial study that could have led to Pentagon control over U.S. nuclear weapons design and manufacturing. In February, the administration's Office of Management and Budget called for a study of the possibility of moving nuclear weapons work run by the National Nuclear Security Administration, including Los Alamos and Sandia labs, out of the civilian Department of Energy and into the Department of Defense. But after missing a key study milestone, an Office of Management and Budget spokesman acknowledged Monday that the study will not be done. The decision to abandon the study, first reported Monday by Global Security Newswire, does not mean the idea of Pentagon control is dead, according to the statement from OMB communications director Ken Baer. But rather than a fast track study, the issue will instead be considered as part of broader discussions of the future of the ...

Anonymously contributed: Since Tyler the Liar uttered publicly his profane "...substantially equivalent in the aggregate..." and it echoed, un-denounced by those who knew better, the brazen public lie is emerging as an acceptable business practice at LLNL. Do you now think is an acceptable business practice to deceive to achieve your ends? Do you think that LLNL leaders deliberately deceive to achieve its ends? If the people being deceived know they are being deceived, is it acceptable? Do you believe either the proposed bonus program or the new 200-series classification step structure will be implemented without a direct reduction in compensation --- and --- that compensation and senior management know this and are lying about it? Do you trust reformed LLNL management?

Anonymously contributed: The link: http://llnlthetruth.blogspot.com/ Has a link to this article: http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20090824_8927.php The main thrust of the article is the study of whether the nuclear weapons complex should be removed from NNSA. But there are two interesting quotes in the article: "It is a testament to our weapon designs in the 1970s and '80s that the weapons are NNSA-proof," said Jeffrey Lewis, who directs the New America Foundation's Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative. "Given the failures that run from the management [of] NNSA down to the labs, it's remarkable that our bombs work at all." And Lewis said he does not expect the Nuclear Posture Review to significantly improve on what he sees as the commission's "anodyne" recommendation. Rather, he anticipates the nuclear agency and national laboratories would likely remain in "a death spiral of sorts," hampered by "inco...

ANonymously contributed: For those of you who chose TCP2, are you aware of a change in policy for 2009 in which 401k contributions under the over-50 "catch up" provision are no longer matched up to 6% of your income by LLNS? Depending on you income, this will cost you as much as $5500.

Anonymously contributed: It is time for Glenn Mara, now head of LLNS/LANS to begin cleaning house. An open letter to Glenn. Dear Glenn, During the transition, one of the silliest reprisals that jealous Congressional staff took at LANL and LLNL was to remove the option of Lump-sum cashout from TCP-1. There is no reason to continue this and we request that you get this changed. Having a lump-sum cash-out option is a no-cost benefit to TCP-1 members. It costs NNSA/LLNS nothing, since it is actuarially equivalent to an annuity payout. ERISAs assumptions are very consevative, so no losses would occur. The faster TCP-1 benefits are paid off, the faster the porcine Congress can waste the left-overs stoking their unsatiable egos. Why lump-sum? Because I would like complete separation from LLNS. While I trust Mara, I trust no one else running LLNS. I want my money outta there before some Bush-era MBA bu*********r figures out how to screw me, through adjusting factors, misinterpretting law or ...

Anonymously contributed: Has anyone else compared their current retirement estimate under LLNS with the retirement benefit calculator at the UC benefits website for exactly the same conditions? It seems the closer I get to retirement the more these two figures change, with the LLNS going down (for 50% spousal continuance). Can LLNS change this with time, for instance as ERISA factors change?

Anonymosuly contributed: "Inside Obama Administration, a Tug of War Over Nuclear Warheads," Tuesday, August 18, 2009, at http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20090818_1478.php

Anonymous wants to know: So what do you think about bonuses instead of compensation?

Anonymously contributed: All 192 beams were fired successfully yesterday.

Recognition is alive and well at the highest levels. http://www.nnsa.energy.gov/news/ourpeople.htm but how about recognition at the division and group levels? Does it exist where you are?

Anonymously asked: Given that the new task based work process with attendant documentation has slowed work to a crawl, has anybody else resorted to guerilla maintenance (working things in on Mondays and Fridays sans documentation when "safety" coverage is low) in order to get minor things done?

Good stuff is pouring in this weekend. Greg's comments have proven to be a lightning rod. This one is a Nut Rocker. --Doug Greg, this transition may be perfectly rational and beneficial to employees. The reactions here are symptomatic of the complete erosion of trust that's been accomplished by LANL management over the last several years. Remember Maslow's hierarchy of needs? Our management can't even seem to get the basics of modern human existince right anymore - e.g. safe drinking water and a non-porous roof over our heads. Our access to the basic tools to do our jobs is being eroded daily, and we are increasingly treated as babies in the safety and security arenas. Mike berated a room full of managers last week (at the Leadership Summit on Alignment, of all places) for holding different views and experiences of the Lab than his own. Why can't Alignment go bottom-up as well as top-down? It was supremely ironic that Alan Bishop presented a video about the Shacklet...

I heard from one of our safety people that in the very near future, LLNS will be purchasing a bicycle helmet for anyone who wants to ride a lab owned bicycle on site. It looks like you'll have to take a class, then get fitted for a helmet. The bicycles will all be posted that helmets are required and the special lab law (CA DOT does not require anyone over 18 to wear a bicycle helmet) will be strictly enforced . . .

This website sure makes it look like the Lab is hiring deliberatly! http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Lawrence+Livermore+National+Laboratory&l=

Anonymouslty contributed as a comment on the Science key to nuclear labs future says Chu post and moved here because it is so interesting: To conduct business the labs need a cadre of talented and experienced technical staff including material scientists, chemists, weapons phyicists, engineers, technicians and intel types to keep our capability current. Since the timeframe to learn this arcane technology is a long one, incentives are needed for these folks to stick around. Since the cold war ended, weapons science alone can't attract enough adequate talent; so one needs attractive scientific thrusts (NIF, Fusion, lasers, ACI, HEAF) to interest them. So on examination it appears that the country needs some above average technical people paid at an above average rate to aid retention. Now the over-paid managers argument that you raise seemed to have merit. Until I realized that I only noticed management here - in 30 years - when it was bad. And there is plenty that was not so good, ...

Science key to nuclear labs future says Chu By Physics Today August 7, 2009 In the first public meeting of the President’s Council of Advisers in Science and Technology (PCAST), US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the loss of basic science and technology funding at the nuclear-weapons labs Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore have had an inverse effect in the labs ability to attract "the best and the brightest." During the 1990s the labs basic research funding was on an “10-year-glide-path” to be cut in half he said, which was only stopped in 1998. "To be blunt," said Chu, "the best and the brightest didn’t want to be weapons designers...they wanted to do good science." Chu pointed out that this model—of using basic science as the carrot which would eventually lead to an interest in more applied work—has been common at all the major innovation incubators such as the Bell Laboratories or in the weapons labs early history. How to attract high caliber staff to t...

Anonymous wants to know what you think: NNSA Press Release August 5, 2009 NNSA approves Livermore Valley Open Campus concept Scientific collaboration key goal of more interactive approach WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Nuclear Security Administration today announced the first step toward the creation of the Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC), a joint venture between Sandia National Laboratories and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that will promote greater collaboration between the world-class scientists at the nuclear security labs and their partners in industry and academia. The LVOC, which would create a shared space between the two adjacent labs, is in keeping with NNSA’s vision for increased scientific interaction and collaboration across the nuclear security enterprise. The proposal signed by NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino and the Undersecretary for Science Steve Koonin, endorses the LVOC concept and moving forward on the conceptual development of design alternative...

The N ational almost IF An Engineer’s account of working on the NIF Livermore California, 2002-2003 https://lasers.llnl.gov/programs/nif/about.php Dear Reader, If you pursue a career in physics, chemistry or engineering and you are considering a professional position with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with the anticipation of career development, you should read this article. Do so before you accept an offer to work for this facility. Hiring From 2002-2003 I was employed as a flex-term employee at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore California. I was hired as a software engineer to develop algorithms for the Integrated Computer Control System (ICCS), a critical and integral part of the controversial National Ignition Facility (NIF). Termination I supported the NIF program for one year when I was aggressively fired and expelled from LLNL for asking too many embarrassing questions from NIF management about defining engineering requirements for my assig...

Anonymously contributed: Another sign that NNSA's national labs are fading away while DOE's national labs grow.... Bay Area national labs get new Recovery Act funding By Suzanne Bohan Contra Costa Times 08/04/2009 A $327 million initiative to bolster research and infrastructure programs at national laboratories is funneling more than $61 million to Bay Area facilities, the Department of Energy announced on Tuesday. Under the initiative, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory will get $37.8 million in federal Recovery Act funding, with $11 million designated for fusion energy research, $13.1 million for new equipment at the Joint Genome Institute, and $4 million for new instrumentation at the Berkeley lab's Joint BioEnergy Institute. Another $8.8 million will go toward improvements at the lab's Advanced Light Source facility, which generates intense light for scientific research, and $875,000 will support development of "smart grid" technology, which uses computing and c...

Contributed by John: ------------- July 29, 2009 Presented at U.S. Strategic Command’s Strategic Deterrence Symposium - "The Nuclear Security Enterprise and Our Strategic Deterrent" Presented by Thomas D'Agostino, Administrator, NNSA Good afternoon. Let me begin by echoing so many other speakers and thanking STRATCOM for organizing this symposium, and all of you for being here. In his Prague speech, President Obama charted a new course for the United States. Like President Reagan before him, he spoke of a long-term glide slope to zero nuclear weapons. But he also made clear that, “[a]s long as these weapons exist, the United States will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal to deter any adversary, and guarantee that defense to our allies . . .” In pursuit of this agenda, there are two efforts currently underway – both of which will have major implications for the U.S. nuclear deterrent and for the infrastructure we employ to support that deterrent. First, as was...

Anonymously asked: Anyone have any information on developments, comments,status on the ongoing NLRB hearing that started on the 27th Jul in Oakland for the illegally laid-off skilled crafts workers? Sounds as if UPTE is actually doing something and standing up for workers rights.

In the last 3 months, I relied heavily on a co-blogger who helped me tremendously. I am very thankful for that. When he left, I received very nasty emails and comments calling me all kinds of names. So, I decided to comb the Blog to see why people were so outraged. Here it was, a side bar link for political views that was filled with hate and bigotry. This one slipped through. I will not apologize on behalf of someone else BUT I went ahead and removed it. No more political views!

This is who runs the Lab! Scroll down to middle of page http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/mm2006/012006/lines.html

From the LANL BLOG: Consider the current political situation. NNSA is in the fourth year of its plan to reconfigure the nuclear weapons complex. The plan is oriented toward retrenching and down sizing probably requiring closing one weapons lab. Since some of the weapons work is being consolidated at LANL but none at LLNL, it is clear which lab they will chose to close. The move of Anastasio to LANL and putting Miller in charge at LLNL was another indicator. Miller was the also ran in every selection of a new director during my time at LLNL. He is a prime choice to preside over the dismemberment of LLNL. The NNSA reconfiguration plan was predicated on Congress approving the Reliable Replacement Warhead and scheduling 5-year upgrade cycles. Not only is that not going to happen, Obama has promised to quit paying for the unused weapons of the Cold War. Guess what weapons are on the top of the list. That leaves NNSA with no weapons programs to fund the weapons labs. The way the government w...

Anonymously contributed: When I came to this place 30 plus years ago there was hardly any landscaping. Didn't bother me. Didn't bother anyone else I worked with (unless they were just keeping mum).I don't think anyone really cared. We were there to do R&D, not admire the landscape. Today, it is a different story.I have no idea how much this beautification project cost or how much it will cost to maintain but I agree it is a serious waste of taxpayer money.

Anonymously contributed: The 5% tax is being used to cover the cost of NIF Dedication and Family Day. A ridiculous amount of money was spent on these activities. Trees, roads, bark, paint, shrubs, more bark, a water conservation project (complete with amphitheater), grass, irrigation, signs, pavement, and oh, was there a spot that didn't get bark? Hopefully someone will shine the light of truth on the games that are being played with our tax dollars. How do you think all of this work was paid for?? What Science? We have become an arboretum. It does look nice, no?

Anonymously contributed: I was just wondering how many folks actually got this Audit of Dependent Eligibility letter? It says that if I do not prove that I am married to my husband of 40 years that he and I will BOTH be de-enrolled from insurance coverage for a period of 12 months. I had to go to my bank safe deposit box and get a copy of my marriage license and give that to benefits. If a person has other dependents such as children, birth certificates of all dependents would have to be provided. I don't understand why this is necessary since my husband and I have BOTH gone through the Lab Q Clearance process since 1991 and many re-investigations and have never been asked to provide a copy of our marriage license. Never in my 40 years of marriage and many loans and even a passport have I been asked to prove that I was married. What about all of the retirees? I know my mother-in-law didn't have to prove she was married to her husband to collect his retirement after he passed a...

I admit that this year, moderation of this BLOG has been a little relaxed, in the interest of freedom of speech. It was hard to publish some views and not publish opposing views. It is time to go back to the purpose of the LOG. From here on, I will not publish anything not related to: 1) Impact of privatization of the Lab on employees, past and present and friends and families. 2) Opinions on LLNS operation of the Lab 3) reports of waste, wrongdoing and any kind of injustice against employees and taxpayers by LLNS/DOE/NNSA. or criticism without suggested solutions and remember: The BLOG author(s) do not have to agree or disagree with any post or comments before publishing them. They serve as impartial moderators.

Anonymously contributed: This blog is a joke. Either nobody reads it, nobody cares to comment on it, or the moderator doesn't care/is lazy/whatever. There are few relevant posts and even fewer relevant comments. Sad. The blog HAD noble goals out the outset.......you should read the LANL blog instead....at least it's active, at least it's relevant. And the info often applies to LLNL/LLNS as well as LANL/LANS. Unless somebody breathes some life into this one, it ought to be terminated. Sorry for the harsh opinion, but it's just a waste of time to come here.

Anonymously contributed in the LANL Blog: I never signed any contract to work for DOE or the Federal government. I signed up as a UC employee. No different than if I worked as a researcher at UC working on a CONTRACT for NASA, NIH, etc. I was a UC employee. Payed into and was promised the UC retirement system. Retired under UC BEFORE LANS was even a thought in someone's mind. Remain retired under UCRP. But now my medical benefits are provided by some company I never worked for, while other UC retirees from other institutions are treated differently and better. How can DOE allow one entity (UC) to get off the hook and assign their obligations to their retirees to a new company that can downgrade and eliminate those obligations at will? Crap, it's one think to be traded when you are still playing....it's quite another to be promised one thing, devote your entire working career to it, and then have it yanked out from under you. Legal or not, it's not fair. Mark my words, t...