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IBEW Protests At Minnesota Nuclear Plant

August 9, 2004

With their contract negotiations stalled and a cost-cutting frenzy threatening their safety, members of IBEW Local 949 at the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant in Red Wing, Minnesota, set up an informational picket line in late July.

Among the workers on the picket line were Prairie Island engineers and quality assurance/quality control personnel (QAQC). Engineers, who voted to be represented by the IBEW two years ago, have been working without a contract for 20 months. QAQC members, also recently organized, have been negotiating a new contract since December. They led workers on the picket line chanting, "Who wants a contract? We want a contract!" Supporting the protest against Nuclear Management Corporation (NMC) were members of IBEW locals 23, 343 and 160 and members of the Ironworkers and Pipefitters unions.

Local 949 filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) contending that Nuclear Management was in violation of federal labor law by denying wage increases to workers who voted for union representation and by threatening workers who wore union buttons. Included in the charge was the companys refusal to bargain. The NLRB issued a charge against the company which went to trial before an administrative law judge in Minneapolis on July 13.

Vince Guertin, Business Manager of Local 949, says, "Weve been in a bitter labor dispute with NMC for a long time. They are bad players and behave like bad players." Guertin credits International Representative Jim Dahlberg, of the Sixth District, for his valuable assistance to Local 949.

The Prairie Island facility is owned by Xcel Energy. In 1999, Xcel brought in Nuclear Management to operate the plant. NMC operates six other power plants in the Midwest, several of which are under contract with the IBEW.

Two hundred workers at Xcel, who were represented by IBEW Local 949, prior to NMCs arrival, retained their bargaining unit as Xcel employees. But nonunion engineers, QAQC workers and radiation protection and chemistry department workers became employees of NMC. Despite widespread abuses by NMC, they voted to be represented by Local 949, becoming three new bargaining units. The radiation protection workers have signed a first agreement.

One week after the picketing, Nuclear Management further antagonized workers by announcing that up to 700 positions would be eliminated fleetwide.

The union memberships concern about Nuclear Managements job cuts is aggravated by reports showing that, at five out of six plants, the companys employees established performance records in 2003. Prairie Island produced 8.8 million megawatt-hours of electricity. The plants continuous operational run of 559 days set a record.

Maureen Brown, a spokeswoman for the company, claims that costs are, nevertheless, too high and denies the unions charge that job cuts could jeopardize plant safety. Brown, in a statement to the Minneapolis Star Tribune said that the companys cost structure is 3 to 5 dollars higher per megawatt-hour than industry competitors. Answering the safety charge she said, "I can tell you emphatically that the staff reductions that have already occurred [210 positions] have not affected plant safety." The article goes on to quote John Budd, a professor of human resources and industrial relations at the University of Minnesotas Carlson School of Management. He said, "Their safety record may be related to the fact that they may have more workers than their competitors."

Members of Local 949 are in for the long haul and are taking their case to the surrounding community. They have erected a billboard on a road into the plant that is also traveled by thousands of visitors to the Treasure Island Resort and Casino. The billboard says: "Prairie Island Engineers Say the Nuclear Management Company is Unfair to Workers. Quality of Life Matters!"

Jim Hunter, Director of the IBEW Utilities Department, commends the Prairie Island workers for standing up for their rights. "Some folks say that engineers and other professionals in power plants are hard to organize," he claims. "But these brothers and sisters are showing how unions can reach out and successfully bring in new members who will be strong union activists and increase our bargaining leverage."

To read more about local 949s efforts, visit the locals Web site at www.ibewlocal949.org.

Local 949 Web site

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