Rumors starting to surface regarding the first round of RIFS to begin at LLNL in late April! Anyone care to share in inf on this subject?
Brewster McFrisk
Brewster McFrisk
Tri-Valley Cares needs to be on this if they aren't already. We need to make sure that NNSA and LLNL does not make good on promises to pursue such stupid ideas as doing Plutonium experiments on NIF. The stupidity arises from the fact that a huge population is placed at risk in the short and long term. Why do this kind of experiment in a heavily populated area? Only a moron would push that kind of imbecile area. Do it somewhere else in the god forsaken hills of Los Alamos. Why should the communities in the Bay Area be subjected to such increased risk just because the lab's NIF has failed twice and is trying the Hail Mary pass of doing an SNM experiment just to justify their existence? Those Laser EoS techniques and the people analyzing the raw data are all just BAD anyways. You know what comes next after they do the experiment. They'll figure out that they need larger samples. More risk for the local population. Stop this imbecilic pursuit. They wan...
Comments
FYI... See how much LLNS is getting
MORE DETAILS ON LLNL FEE FOR FY 2011
Lawrence Livermore National Security, the Bechtel and University of California-led manager of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, earned $12.8 million in fixed fee during Fiscal Year 2011 and was paid a total of $47.0 million for managing the lab, according to details of the contractor's performance released by the National Nuclear Security Administration late last week. The fixed fee is in addition to $26.3 million (out of $29.7 million) of at-risk fee-reported last week by NW&M Monitor-and $7.95 million in fee for Work for Others activities at the lab. LLNS could have earned up to $50.5 million, and in receiving 88.7 percent of its at-risk fee, it earned a "very good" rating from the NNSA and a one-year "award term" extension to its contract, stretching the deal through 2016. LLNS earned $45.7 million out of $49.8 million available in FY2010.
Don't forget ... 2,000 employee were
axed ... $100K/emp X 2000 = $200M.
Where did the $200M end up .... ??
Let me guess ... higher salary for managers, Bechtel, bonuses,...
January 11, 2012 1:01 PM
Oh don't worry, there is a ton a bricks being loaded on a roof right now that is about to be dropped on LLNS/LANS employees. Mark my word....
January 11, 2012 7:41 AM
Terry Wallace and Mike Burns are nothing more than Anastasio's/McMillan's trophies to demonstrate that the "local boys" from Los Alamos High School (LAHS) "do good". I've never been impressed by either one of these dudes (Burns/Wallace). Their grades in college were appalling.
(1) Pay for the Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program (VRIP).
(2) Watch Knapp "The Hun" hack-away at the staff. Why? Because, he hates Los Alamos and the staff at LANL.
You heard it here first. Interestingly, the timing of this coincides with LLNS action to downsize.
If not first quarter then the next opportune time would be Oct/Nov announcement with it being effective early Jan. Again doing something that can save budget early in a FY and not affecting tax bracketing, etc. Again maybe Veterans Day weekend to allow contemplation.
I don't think the cost is any different between a RIF and an incentive. With a RIF they still have to pay separation which is 1 week for each year of service up to 39 week max and I think they would make it the same for incentive. Spend $80M to save $200M.
Problem comes from each method. A RIF can be more selective in targeting. Programs with funding issues, poor performers, etc. It would probably take more RIFs to meet a target goal (admin types = $150K/person savings, older staff members - $450K/person).
Incentives are mainly targeted at the $450K/person who is nearing retirement. There may be some employees who want to go back to school, join academia, etc. An incentive doesn't allow targeting. Sometimes it might be a brain drain. But LANL seemed to have survived the last incentive.
I base a lot of this on the 2008 incentive. It took about the number of people we would have to see take it now. If salary + overhead ranges from $150K - $450K then the average might be $350K to give 600 people needed to reach $200M.
Letting contractors and limited term employees go through a RIF equates to trying to save money through pencil and paper purchases, double sided printing, and travel restrictions. They don't work and you don't realize the savings you think you will. Just postponing the inevitable. Downsize Downsize Downsize and resist the temptation to staff up again.
Rumors are flying all over LANL about "3/3", "5/5" age & service credit early retirement incentives to the pension benefits that may (or may not) be given to employees. I have my doubts.
The only incentive they gave with the last downsizing operation back in 2008 was to allow severance to those who would voluntarily leave the lab.
Budgetary problems have only become worse at LANL since the last downsizing as LANS management has continued to run up costs with layer after layer of highly compensated upper management and greater bureaucracy.
I can't see where any of the money would come from for a "3/3" or "5/5" type incentive. Not from NNSA and certainly not from the LANS annual profit fees. The LANS corporate partners have made it very clear in the past that their annual profits will not be shared with the general staff under any circumstances.
January 12, 2012 7:11 AM
Good grades in college or not, they are now the ones doing the grading for who stays and who goes.
Many of us took our UC retirement back in 2006 and are now in TCP-2.
January 13, 2012 8:17 AM
Yeah, revenge of the C-students.
Allow me to disagree...I don't know Wallace, but know Burns very well. Best 1st year engineer I ever saw, among perhaps 100 over 35 years. But he moved to LASL, where I could no longer judge, except by fast-track career growth, which has been outstanding. Tremendous talent and excellent long-ball hitter.
New Mexico has produced two outstanding engineers, one likely to lead LANL engineering and the other likely to lead LLNL engineering. Excellent engineers and excellent managers.
So you were part of the Berkeley mechanical engineering faculty at the time?
My bet is that you don't even know who Tien is,let alone what he is famous for.
"Envy of a Berkeley grads is forgivable, if accompanied by Wild Turkey."
Send Mike a bottle.
My bet is that you don't even know who Tien is,let alone what he is famous for.
January 13, 2012 10:21 PM
Tien was OK. Hsu, Mote, and Naghdi were outstanding, they were teaching the tough non-linear mechanics, not basic heat transfer. Incidently, I saw Burns grades when he interviewed at LANL. They were horrible!
January 13, 2012 10:15 PM
Hi Carol! Now you are a great chemist and manager!
January 13, 2012 10:15 PM
Wonder what this REALLY means?
When the 2008 layoffs occurred NNSA required all of the professionals who did receive the big payouts to hang around the lab (Sunshine building) and "look" for jobs via the workstations supplied there. If you weren't looking for a job, you were off the payroll. Now how many people actually came in everyday and did the song and dance to get the money, I don't know. I do know the policy was re-written to make it much cheaper and much easier to get people out the door.
VRIP, VSIP, those are quaint notions from an AEC/UC era. Those days are dead and gone.
But if there was a VRIP and you got between me and the door, I guarantee my footprints would all over you.
LANL RIF policy says 1 week for every year up to 39 weeks if you have over 20 years. Policy is policy and they just rewrote it in 2008 after the last voluntary.
1 week's pay per year worked (max of 26 weeks).
This may not come out right due to formatting issues, but here's the layoff policy straight out of the manual:
______________
III.1.4 Notice of Layoff to Employees
In the event of a layoff, Staff Relations shall prepare written notification to be given to the employee. The minimum notice period will be thirty (30) calendar days'. up to two weeks pay in lieu of notice may be given.
________________
No other section of the layoff policy makes ANY statement of pay whatsoever. That was yanked out in October 2008, after the layoffs.
In other words, the professional staff was reduced to the same reimbursement as the technical staff. If someone can find where the policy currently states LLNL will give 1 week / year separation pay, I'd like to see the link.
I tried posting the entire policy, it's greater than the 4K limit.
SECTION VI – PAYMENTS ON SEPARATION
(a) Reduction in Force (RIF). When employees are terminated due to a RIF, the following
costs are allowable:
(1) Pay in lieu of notice. Any employee who is laid off or terminated due to a RIF
may be given pay in lieu of the required minimum written notice of termination
to the extent permitted by law. Accumulated vacation credit is also paid.
(2) Severance pay benefit. Any employee who is laid off or terminated due to a RIF
shall be given severance pay as calculated in Schedule A or B.
Severance Payment Schedule A
For those LANL employees that transferred from U.C. to LANS on June 1, 2006
Length of Service Benefit Allowance
Up to and including 2 years 2 weeks of pay
Over 2 years but less than 6 years 1 week of pay for each year of service
6 years +
1 week of pay for each year of service through 6
years, plus 2 weeks of pay for each year of
service in excess of 6 years, not to exceed a total
of 39 weeks.
Severance Payment Schedule B
Schedule B is applicable for new LANS employees hired on or after June 1, 2006.
Length of Service Benefit Allowance
6 months up to 1 year of service 1 week of pay
1 year + 1 week of pay for each year of service, not to
exceed a total of 26 weeks of pay.
January 16, 2012 10:22 AM
Correct. The contract language cited by another poster is:
"When employees are terminated due to a RIF, the following
costs are allowable:"
This means the costs of the benefit would be paid by NNSA under the contract, but does not REQUIRE the LLCs to provide the benefit. In the UC days, They would happily provide any benefit DOE would cover, and then some. Those days are over.
Before spreading any more gloom and doom blather, please read LANL P-713-1 rev 3 (8/15/11) "Reduction in Force, 3.4 Severance Pay Regular employees who are terminated because of a RIF are eligible for severance pay as
described below." Followed by the same tables as in the contract.
Go hide under some other bridge!
"Career employees, trainees, apprentices, term appointees, and key personnel who are eligible for vacation and sick leave credits and who are laid off from employment (see Section K, Part III, “Layoff”) for an indefinite period due to lack of work or lack of funds, are eligible for severance payments in accordance with the following provisions."
"The severance payment will be made in an amount equal to one week’s pay for each calendar year of continuous fulltime equivalent service (a fractional year of fulltime equivalent service of six months or more is counted as one year of service) not to exceed a total of twenty-six (26) weeks’ pay."
described below." Followed by the same tables as in the contract.
Go hide under some other bridge!
January 16, 2012 4:31 PM
All I said was that the NNSA contract does not REQUIRE the LLC to provide the benefit. That the LLC currently does provide it by policy does not change that fact. The LLC can choose to change its policy and no longer provide the benefit at any time, without violating the NNSA contract. That was my point, and it still stands.
Sandia changed the retirement medical and pension benefits so that those who didn't leave before Jan 1st of this month would loose about 10% of their annual retirement payments when they finally made it to retirement in 2015 with around 28 years of service. Given that bleak future, most of the older staff decided to not make a bet on surviving for another 3 years at SNL only to then see a 10% cut in what they would have originally received from their pension. It was a pretty big "stick" held over their heads and it was used to beat them senseless.
These same older SNL employees would also have their medical retirement payments capped at the current levels (no future increases to cover for increasing medical costs) unless they ran out the door and retired by the 1st of this January.
I think it is reasonable to expect that LLNS and LANS may use the same "stick" method to beat the heads of their older employees. You can expect that little or no severance will be paid out and talk of a "3/3" pension incentive for adding to age and service credit of those who voluntarily leave is pure fantasy.
As an aside, Bret Knapp (PAD for Nuclear Weapons) is still be quoted as saying "I still need to get rid of people".
Do you think LANS is sending us a message?
January 18, 2012 1:59 AM
The fact that you are asking the question means that 1) you are one of the reaming clueless LANS employees who have had their heads in the sand for the past 6 years, or 2) you are just now realizing your career is over. I hope it is the latter. Find an employer who values its employees, knows the meaning of ethical behavior, and best of all, doesn't require you to live in the sh*thole of Los Alamos New Mexico. I retired and and I am through living in a third-world country. I am really looking forward to getting back to the States. My well-earned pension money and my accumulated economic power goes with me, back to where people can speak English without an accent, when their ancestors have lived here for only two generations, instead of those who can't speak English at all after 20 generations among English speakers. Adios, losers! Now go visit your drop-out kid in BCDC.
That doesn't mean a lot because if he would have said yes it would have been old news within an hour.
It's only a secret if one person knows.
Regardless of whether it is $2 million or $3 million, you can be sure that the LANS upper management team is not the least bit interested in giving any juicy extra benefits or incentives to the remaining workforce that sits under them. The beatings will continue until morale improves.
January 19, 2012 8:13 PM
I always enjoyed working with you folks at Y-12, however, you are asking the wrong folks at LANS and LLNS about organizing. Unfortunately, the vast majority of us [not including me] have been ambivalent about "organizing". We continue to get pummeled by managers like Bret Knapp. I have no idea what it will take "to wake up and smell the heap of crap that LANS/LLNS has dumped on us". PU!
1.8.39% pay raise for 08-10
2.1-1/2% bonus 11-12 years, 2013 pay raise equal to the average of raises given to other llnl employees or whichever is greater.
3. preserves health and safety rights,and protections from arbitrary discipline.
4.demotions do not apply to bargaining unit members.
5.perserves vacation and sick leave
6.adds limits on the duration of supplemental labor positions.
7.flex term employees converted to fte's.
8.locked in 2007 ppm manual.
9.kept shift differential aspart of base retirement income.
10. any change to the pension system must be bargain.
UPTE LOCAL9119 CWA AFL-CIO SKILL CRAFTS
January 20, 2012 8:51 PM
Sounds like a workers' paradise. Who's paying for all that?
January 20, 2012 8:51 PM
Sounds like a workers' paradise. Who's paying for all that?
January 23, 2012 10:17 AM
You are buddy! You're a taxpayer right?
January 20, 2012 8:51 PM
Sounds like a workers' paradise. Who's paying for all that?
January 23, 2012 10:17 AM
You are buddy! You're a taxpayer right?
January 27, 2012 5:38 AM
Too true, and too telling about the sense of entitlement among unions, especially public-sector unions. The only solace is that their hard-won pensions will mysteriously disappear when they are well into dependence on them in their 70's. All laws can be changed. No savings? Thought the government would always take care of you? So sad, too bad, you're done. Congratulations.
The list you documented was very positive. Does your local have a web site that gives more detail on the items you mentioned?
Your friend from Oak Ridge.
Now, a budget based on continuing resolution - and we can't reasonably expect any more than that in an election year - that funding stream could induce a RIF.
I hope our new director understands the meaning of the word "agile". It is today's new reality and you only prolong and add to the pain by delaying decisions