KENNEWICK — Security police officers for the Hanford nuclear site will not be reporting to work Wednesday after the Hanford Guards Union Local 21 contract expires at 5:30 a.m.
The union and Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, a Department of Energy contractor at the nuclear reservation in Eastern Washington, have been negotiating a new contract for the Hanford Patrol without reaching agreement.
HMIS President Amy Basche sent a memo Tuesday afternoon to all Hanford site employees saying it had a contingency plan in place to provide security staff for Hanford until a new agreement is in place.
The Hanford Patrol, an armed protective force, provides security for the 580-square-mile site adjacent to Richland. Duties include protecting radioactive materials and classified materials, providing active shooter response, and deterring and responding to radiological and toxicological sabotage events by terrorists or others.
The patrol also staffs secure entrances to the site and aids the Hanford Fire Department, including controlling accident scenes and providing first response services in medical emergencies until fire department staff arrive.
The number of Hanford guards is not made public for security reasons.
No negotiating sessions have been agreed to by both sides and none are currently scheduled, but both sides said they want to continue discussions as soon as possible.
Dave Donovan, vice president of the International Guards Union of America Regional Council 1, said Local 21 most recently gave HMIS a counter offer that included a two-week extension of the contract for Hanford police.
HMIS declined the extension and is locking the union guards out starting Wednesday, he said.
An offer for a bargaining session also was declined by HMIS, Donovan said.
HMIS said it declined to bargain Tuesday, Nov. 26, because the two sides were far apart and HMIS needed the day to prepare for the contract expiration.
It declined the two-week extension, instead agreeing to give union members five days to vote on HMIS’ “best and final offer.”
The guard members voted down the offer.
The Local 21’s three-year contract expired Nov. 1 but has had extensions until Wednesday, Nov. 27.
Hanford Guard bargaining issues
At issue in the contract negotiations are pay and morale issues, said Chris Hall, president of the Hanford guards union and a Hanford guard who works as a sniper and on the special response team.
The current contract has not provided the union resolution to grievances, he said. It currently has four arbitrations with HMIS, one of them 18 months old without resolution, he said.
In addition, Local 21 wants language in its contract covering medical autonomy after a COVID vaccine mandate during the pandemic, Hall said.
Security requirements and monitoring are also of concern, he said.
Guards are required to have DOE’s high level “Q” clearance and are subject to the Human Reliability Program, in which their actions, such as spending and travel are monitored, Hall said.
Changes were made to the program about a year ago that can affect security clearance for guards that would leave them unable to be armed and therefore unable to work, he said. The union was not notified of the changes, he said.
Security clearances are an important part of national security requirement to ensure appropriate protection for national level assets, HMIS said.
Local 21 wants additional pay for the security requirements, which would still not bring guards up to the pay of some other union workers at Hanford, Hall said. HMIS has offered a $4 per hour bump with the guard now asking for $14.50, Hall said.
The economy is been the worst in the past 15 years and Local 21 members need better pay than was negotiated in its expiring contract, he said.
“We’re just trying to catch up,” he said.
Hall questions how a new, temporary security force can keep Hanford workers, firefighters and the Tri-Cities area community as safe as the Hanford Patrol, with guards who have a deep familiarity with the site.
It could take longer to respond to medical emergencies, for example, he said.
“We want to make sure we get back out there and keep protecting the material on the site and the employees as well as the community the way we’ve been doing for years,” he said.
The Hanford site produced plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program from World War II through the Cold War. It still has radioactive materials and contamination as environmental cleanup continues.
Picketing at Hanford entrances
HMIS declined to say who would be providing security and other Hanford guard services starting Wednesday, saying it was a security issue.
“Like all DOE sites handling security sensitive materials, HMIS has a contingency plan to ensure required staffing to prevent disruption to the Hanford Site’s security posture,” Basche said in her memo. “With no agreement in place, HMIS has begun implementing this plan.”
Workers may notice changes in Hanford Patrol personnel, but critical positions will be staffed by qualified personnel, she said.
There may be picketing at some buildings in Richland and at the Yakima Barricade entrance to the secure portion of Hanford and the old Wye Barricade, she said. HMIS employees and visitors are asked to use those gates, she said.
But the current Wye Barricade and Rattlesnake Barricade entrances are neutral gates not designated for picketing. They may be used by employees and visitors of other Hanford site contractors or the Department of Energy, she said.
“HMIS continues to negotiate in good faith with the Hanford Guards Union,” said HMIS spokesperson Renee Brooks. “Ensuring the safety and security of Hanford is our number one priority, and we will continue to ensure that national security interests are protected, and that Hanford operations continue to be safe and secure until HMIS and the union reach an agreement.”
