Modifications in a contract between the Army and Parsons, the contractor the Army hired to build and operate the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, have employees threatening to walk off the job.

These are highly trained employees who are responsible for operating and maintaining the plant that destroys the deadly nerve agent VX, said Scott Rowden, environmental director for Parsons Technologies Inc.

Rick Rife, Parsons site project manager, was asked Monday about the potential impact on operations of losing 50 or more employees from the Disposal Facility.

“If we don't have an adequate number of people, we can't operate,” Rife said. “If we don't have enough people to run safely, we won't run.”

The destruction of VX won't be halted, however, if those members of the work force leave, said Col. Jesse L. Barber, project manager for the Army's Alternative Technologies and Approaches Project.

“If we lost 50 to 60 people we will consolidate the work force and go to a smaller crew,” he said. “We will go to a one-shift operation, which will allow us to continue destroying VX. It will not shut us down. I have a promise from my boss, Kevin Flamm, program manager for the Elimination of Chemical Weapons, that allows me to borrow workers from other sites to keep Newport going if we can't do it with the existing work force.”

At issue is contractor incentive pay. After Sept. 11, 2001, the program to destroy VX was accelerated.

“Due to the compelling nature of the accelerated schedule, the contractor needed to take extraordinary measures to recruit and retain personnel for the short duration of the project,” said Terry Arthur, Army spokeswoman. “The contractor offered a select number of recruited employees benefit packages such as performance retention incentives and living allowances.”

The employees receiving these incentives had worked at other Army disposal facilities, Barber said.

VX destruction began May 5. Recent changes to the project have extended the completion date to at least late 2007.

“‘Speedy Newt' was supposed to last about nine months and now we expect the VX destruction process to last 30 months from start to finish, Barber said.

With a longer duration, Parsons and the Army are trying to reach an agreement that will include benefits that are equitable among all employees eligible to receive the incentive package, and to meet the Army's objective to retain a reasonable incentive for the workers to remain on the job through completion of agent destruction, Arthur said.

“When the cycle is extended, certain things don't apply,” Barber said. “The temporary lodging allowance is typically for 120 days and usually is only extended for another 120 days if needed.”

The current Parsons contract and any new agreed-upon changes are scheduled to be effective in January “well beyond the scope of the retention and incentive package initially offered to the select number of employees,” Arthur said.

The Army declined to discuss specific dollar amounts.

The nerve agent destruction facility operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Rife said. It can't operate and destroy nerve agent VX without a specific number of operators and maintenance employees, he said.

There is a pre-established number of personnel required for safe operations of the facility.

“Should the work-force staffing be reduced below established minimums, for any reason, we will not be able to operate the disposal facility,” Rife said. “Parsons has anticipated a nominal turnover rate for the work force, and accordingly continually hires a small number of personnel to go through the required training program to allow them to assume operating positions as they become available. If a large number of workers left at one time, we would have to train and certify more workers before re-starting the plant.”

Barber pledged to continue VX destruction with the focus on safety first.

“We won't shut down,” he said. “We will continue to destroy VX,” safely.”

Patricia Pastore can be reached at (812)231-4271 or pat.pastore@tribstar.com.

Story created Nov 04, 2005 - 10:38:51 CST.