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Decreased LANL Fellows

 The American Physical Society only gave two Fellows to LANL this year. 10-15 years the lab would get seven to ten every year. About a month ago one of the lab senior scientists gave a report about the declining number publications at LANL. The trend started around 2006. Before that LANL was the top publishing lab in the DOE system now it has fallen behind LBNL, ORNL, ANL and soon it will be behind PNNL. Another point is that number people at LANL has also grown in terms of people who could publish.

2024 Nobel Peace Price

 The Nobel Peace Prize this year went to a group of atom bomb survivors in Japan who have advocated for bombs not to be used, on account of the suffering it might well cause:

https://www.youtube.com/live/5UNqMEquEPk?si=iNXnn4oGz4AKxNpy

A straight face pledge by DOE/NNSA Contractors?

“Raise a concern, get blackballed then lose your job and benefits…” “…instead of raising your concerns just leverage on your skills and go to the next contractor.”

How can DOE/NNSA Contractors say with a straight face, they strive to be good stewards of the environment and care about their employees to a community of potential “downwinders”(in the broadest sense of the term), if their employees know full well, they will lose their jobs if they raise safety concerns?

In 2016, DOE/NNSA employee “whistleblower” fears were brought forward by a few Senators, and now again in 2024, another Senator has asked the DOE Secretary what has changed since 2016, to eliminate whistleblower retaliation by DOE contractors.

This fear of contractor retaliation continues to make Labs ripe for preventable accidents that may impact workers and the health of local communities.

Pay cuts for remote workers

 Pay cuts for remote workers.

LLNL just implemented a new policy effective Oct 1 if you are out of the area and work remote your pay will now be adjusted to your local zip code’s GSA salary schedule.

A revolving door?

 A revolving door?

“Brad Smith To Succeed Kim Lebak As President/General Manager Of N3B Los Alamos”

https://losalamosreporter.com/2023/06/05/brad-smith-to-succeed-kim-lebak-as-president-general-of-n3b-los-alamos/

LLNL “inclusiveness”?

“At LLNL, people are our most important asset…We work to develop their skills and create an inclusive environment that supports an array of professional and personal backgrounds. Together, we sustain our legacy of…”

“Inclusive environment” for LLNL “people”? Did LLNL “people” have an opportunity for timely input to the NNSA as to the benefit or harm of extending the LLNS contract for 5 more years? “Sustain our legacy”?

This is why many employees working at LLNL, despite polished mission statements and talking points (words), continue to believe they are treated like commodities (actions) resulting in further erosion of employee morale.

Three Mile Island restart

 There is a plan to restart Three Mile Island to provide power to Microsoft for its AI and cloud computing efforts:

https://www.inc.com/reuters/three-mile-island-nuclear-plant-to-restart-after-microsoft-ai-power-deal.html