Hermiston Herald
May 7, 2002

Depot workers unionize

By Frank Lockwood
Staff writer

HERMISTON - Operators, engineers, and electricians have joined others who
went union in recent months at Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility
(UMCDF). The vote was 85 to 72, with safety and benefits cited as the
reasons.

The two major groups involved are "Maintenance," and "Operations." Among
eight chemical agent disposal sites nationally, Umatilla is the first where
those actually operating the plant have gone union, with maintenance
personnel (electricians, mechanics etc.) joining International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers, and operators joining International Union of
Operating Engineers Local 701.

UMCDF warehouse employees had already joined a union in January 2001, and a
vote among the administrative and clerical support resulted in a tie. Those
workers are prohibited from voting again for a year following the earlier
vote.

Time wise, Umatilla is neck-to-neck with Anniston Alabama to become the
third chemical weapons incineration facility to go "hot." Chemical weapons
have been incinerated at Johnston Atoll in the South Pacific, as well as at
Tooele, Utah, with few or no unionizing efforts.

According to Randy Knop of Laborer's International Union of North America,
the employers at other sites were successful in keeping union information
out because the remote locations and strict military controls. "It's pretty
hard to talk to the employees on an island," Knop said, and, "Tooele is a
much more isolated location, a military location." There were no efforts
made to organize those two facilities, he said, because of the geographical
and military considerations.

At Umatilla/Hermiston, on the other hand, the union "aggressively defended"
workers who were considering unionizing but who had not yet had the
opportunity to vote union. The unions helped employees file unfair labor
practices complaints against Washington Demilitarization, he said. Reports
about complaints filed against employers can be seen on the OSHA web page,
he said.

Although the issues that concerned the workers were not so much wages, as
safety and benefits, Washington Demilitarization representative Rick Kelly
said that every Washington Group employee is expected to be a part of
safety, indeed, has a responsibility to do so.

Knop said that, without the union to represent them, employees might not
feel free to approach the media with any of their complaints. With the union
to represent them, employees will be able to express differing opinions
without fear, Knop said. As a union representative, he said, "They can't
fire me."

Without the union, employees could have found it more difficult to oppose
certain recommended permit modifications which may arise, he said. The Army
has considered or is considering a wide range of options to speed
incineration, including modifying machines and changing operating
procedures.

In addition, another whistleblower came forward last week in Utah, claiming
supervisors had pressured employees, causing them to ignore standard
operating procedures and safety measures. That will not happen here, Kelly
said.

Frank Lockwood may be reached at 567-6457 or by e-mail at
flockwood@hermistonherald.com.