UXO Workers' Union and DoD Workshop

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Since the government created the Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) industry in
the mid-80's there have been many changes, good and bad, within the
field.  This is often more obvious on the long-term sites such as Forts
Ord and Irwin, California and Buckley, Colorado.  What many people feel
to be the problem, besides the obvious decline in wages and conditions,
is the operation of an industry as if the workers are still in the
military.  After all, until recently 100% of the UXO workers WERE former
military; EOD to be specific.

As the years have gone by the industry has been faced with many new
challenges.  It stands to reason that as the government draws down so do
budgets.  The UXO industry, in many ways, feels the pinch.  For one, the
never-ending search for cheaper ways to do business often means finding
ways to cut out or reduce labor costs.  As well, the hi-tech industry is
continually trying to find a magic machine that will take pretty
pictures of the earth below and tell us exactly where the bombs are (or
aren't).  Now, throw in firm-fixed pricing and the National Association
of OEW Contractors and you have an industry that is ripe for change!

Somewhere in all of this change someone had an idea about four years ago
to start a union movement within the UXO industry.  Nothing big, just a
few guys out in California who felt that they were tired of getting the
short end of the Schonstedt.  So, they began a campaign to bring about
an election.  Eventually Fort Ord, at that time operated by UXB, voted
in a union and things got rolling.  Unfortunately, the collective
bargaining agreement had no teeth and ratification became unlikely.  For
the next few years union activity popped up here and there but never
really caught fire.  Along came the Laborers' International Union of
North America!

Members of LIUNA visited a UXO site in Colorado and history was made.
Of the 52 UXO techs at that site, 48 signed authorization for
representation cards.  LIUNA was so encouraged by this they immediately
hired a full-time EOD tech to act as the field representative and go
around the country spreading the word.  The goal this time-- ORGANIZE
THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY.

In the winter of 1998 the hard work and dedication of these people came
to fruition when election dates were set for four UXO contractors.  A
year had gone by and the idea was to first have the five major companies
vote, then the rest would follow.  When it was all said and done, the
first round of elections netted four out of five UXO companies-- Foster
Wheeler, EOD Technology, USA Environmental, and EHSI.  Sites represented
included Adak, Alaska; Denver, Colorado; Panama Canal Zone; Camp
Claiborne, LA; Hope, Arkansas; Seneca Army Depot, New York; FOrt Ord,
CA; Hunter Liggett, CA; Pine Ridge, SD.

A few months later LIUNA added even more workers by winning another
election.  American Technologies, Inc.  While not a very large company,
ATI operates a very significant contract at Fort Irwin, California.
They recently became one of the only incumbent bidders to ever win a
USACE contract (Ft. Irwin, 5 year/$30M).

So now the LIUNA UXO Workers' Union (LUWU) Local 630 has approximately
200-225 UXO workers under representation.  We are currently in
collective bargaining negotiations with these five contractors, as well
as organizing the remainder of the industry.

Perhaps more important is the fact that the UXO Workers' Union now gives
the UXO workers a voice in the industry where before they had none.  And
nothing points this out more clearly than the recent UXO Forum in
Atlanta.  There, LUWU had an exhibit set up alongside the UXO
contractors.  More recently, LUWU was invited to the DoD UXO Workforce
Development Workshop held at College Station, Texas.  This workshop was
to discuss the recommendations of the Integrated Product Team (IPT) that
are to be forwarded to the Department of Labor.  The issues include
career progression within the UXO industry and the re-writing of UXO
technician job descriptions from the entry-level worker to the Site
Safety Officer.

As a result of the Texas workshop the UXO Workers' Union is now
submitting its own recommendations to the DoL.  There are many reasons
for this, not the least of which is our position that the Corps of
Engineers and the UXO contractors have conspired to lower work, wage,
and safety standards in order to lower the cost of doing business.
Please take the time to read our summary of this very important event at
the link given below.

While you are there please look around our entire website.  We have
broken ground on many ideas by posting Wage Determinations, links to DoL
(you can search for per deim rate, for example), on-line membership
applications, and other information such as news and safety notices.  We
welcome your comments and ideas and are open to criticism, as well.  We
hope that you will view the unionization of the UXO industry as a
positive step towards a more stable and safe UXO working environment.
Those are our goals.

Regards and be safe,

Russell Shattles
EOD/UXO Representative
UXO Workers' Union Local 630
LIUNA, AFL-CIO
(888) 351-5324
FAX:  (410)964-8481
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http://ftp.web2000.com/uxo-liuna/news.htm