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Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Employees at LANL Organize

By Adam Rankin
Journal Staff Writer
    LOS ALAMOS— The people of Los Alamos are looking to unite.
    "We need workers, we need dollars, we need organization," said retired LANL scientist Joe Ladish in a call to gather Los Alamos National Laboratory employees, retirees and community members, as well as concerned people and organizations from the rest of northern New Mexico.
    The group is hoping its collective voice will have a more substantial impact on the LANL contract competition process than their individual voices alone.
    Ladish and about 40 others met after a town hall meeting sponsored by Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., Monday to lay the foundation for creating a group focused on generating a consensus statement on the LANL re-bid.
    Ladish sent around a clipboard and green index cards for people to write their contact information down.
    "We need your names, your e-mails, your willingness to participate," he said.
    He said he wants the group to reach out to other communities affected by LANL and the contract competition. "It is bigger than all of us" because of the laboratory's economic impact on the region, he said.
    Released Dec. 1, the so-called draft request for proposals lays out what the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration expect from the next manager of LANL.
    For many at the meeting, the document falls short, especially in addressing employee benefits.
    More than a year ago, out-going Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham promised that LANL benefits would match those currently offered by the University of California. But the draft criteria says the benefits offered by the next manager need only be comparable, not equivalent.
    "We believe, a number of us ... that we need to organize and put out a sustained effort," Ladish said about ensuring the final criteria are acceptable.
    Among the items on the group's to-do list is creating a strategic committee to guide its efforts and determine exactly what it wants to say.
    Comments on the draft version of the criteria are due Jan. 21, but Ladish said the group should push for change until the final contract is signed.