LLNL=civil service

The following is a comment on "federalizing" post:

I moved it here as a post to allow readers to comment: Are you seeing the same phenomenon at LLNL?

LLNS has become like civil service because there's no monetary gain for doing a good job and no growth to be had. LLNS job seems to be focused on demoralizing the old employees so they'll leave, only to hire two inexperienced people at half the pay and then expect them to do the same quality work. Dream on LLNS, dream on. Heck, most employers can't find people with good work ethics as it is. The only reason LLNS is getting good work out of people now is because most of those doing the work are the old people. Once they're gone, which should be able 5 - 10 years, you'll get to witness a demise in productivity. The new employees are of a different breed in many, many ways especially in their mannerism, dress code and daily acts of defiance against authority, task schedules or for that matter even giving the employer an honest eight hour day. In my area, 50% of the work force carries the other 50% who're substandard employees and basically no-loads

Raises

Question asked by (name pending contributor's permission):

Has anyone heard any facts/rumors about what the possible raise packages will be?

Retirees Blog

The blog entry "Seeking retiree's support" is out of date. We now have a New Web Site . We are working with three law firms and are collecting contributions for purchasing legal action. Our lawyers have done a preliminary analysis of our situation and believe the case should be pursued.

You will find the information posted on your blog In one of last year's status reports. Under the Status Reports heading on the left hand side of our main page, you will find a first in last out pushdown stack providing a history of our activities. There are also newspaper articles and other documents that may be of interest.

Anyone who would like to join our efforts can do so by clicking on "tell me yes" on the web site or sending their name and email address in an email to llnlretiree@comcast.net. Our only way of reaching retirees is by word of mouth since we can't obtain a list of retirees.

Joe

Joe Requa
jrequa@comcast.net
llnlretiree.com

Obama to Seek $5B Nuclear-Weapon Complex Spending Boost

From Global Security Newswire

Obama to Seek $5B Nuclear-Weapon Complex Spending Boost
Friday, Jan. 29, 2010

The Obama administration plans to seek more than $5 billion in additional funding over five years for sustaining the U.S. nuclear complex and deterrent, starting with a $600 million increase in fiscal 2011, Vice President Joseph Biden wrote in a Wall Street Journal commentary published yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 19).

The funding boost is necessary even as President Barack Obama pursues the nuclear-disarmament agenda he laid out last April in Prague, Biden stated (see GSN, Jan. 28).

"As long as nuclear weapons are required to defend our country and our allies, we will maintain a safe, secure and effective nuclear arsenal," he wrote.

"Among the many challenges our administration inherited was the slow but steady decline in support for our nuclear stockpile and infrastructure, and for our highly trained nuclear work force," according to Biden.

"For almost a decade, our laboratories and facilities have been underfunded and undervalued. The consequences of this neglect -- like the growing shortage of skilled nuclear scientists and engineers and the aging of critical facilities -- have largely escaped public notice," he said in the column, noting that the congressionally mandated Strategic Posture Commission took the same position last year (see GSN, July 28, 2009)...


GSN

Federalizing security contactors: good or bad?

Anonymously contributed:

Just what we need - a bigger, fatter bloated Security cow . If unions are so bad for nuclear security why not just do away with them?

Federal Diary: Federalizing security contactors might make our country safer.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/28/AR2010012804005.htm

We cannot quit now!

Contributed by: anonymous

In case you missed it here’s a good article recently in the Wall Street Journal:

How to Protect Our Nuclear Deterrent
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704152804574628344282735008.html?mod=googlenews_wsj


Some rehash of the JASON study & reiteration of the degradation of our National Labs.

“The United States must continue to attract, develop and retain the outstanding scientists, engineers, designers and technicians we will need to maintain our nuclear arsenal, whatever its size, for as long as the nation's security requires it.”

“The study team said it was "concerned that this expertise is threatened by lack of program stability, perceived lack of mission importance, and degradation of the work environment."

The 2010 Nuclear Posture Review will be released soon & will generate renewed interest in the issues cited in the WSJ article. The tragic death of Frank Young comes at a time when, imo, we most need a renewed push on the “degradation of the work environment” at LANL & LLNL.

Perhaps it will not matter but, I feel there are many important people who will be interested in the 2010 NPR & what is being stated by GEORGE P. SHULTZ, WILLIAM J. PERRY, HENRY A. KISSINGER, & SAM NUNN.

I’m making sure members of Congress who represent me hear what I have to say.

We can't quit now!

Frank Young Reported as Dead

The LANL Blog is shutting down. Doug Roberts reported that Frank Young has died, at that Doug was shutting the blog down.

Frank's involvement on the blog was fueled by his search of being contaminated while working at the lab. He never found his answer, and now he never will.

We've lost a porthole that looked into the sinking ship that was once proudly known as LANL.

http://lanl-the-rest-of-the-story.blogspot.com/