News Archive 2004

Strike by Operations Staff Looms at Indian Pt. Nuclear Plant
By LISA W. FODERARO
The New York Times
January 10, 2004

Maintenance and operations workers at the Indian Point nuclear power plant were making preparations for a possible strike in the event that negotiations between their union and Entergy Nuclear Northeast, the plant's owner, do not yield a new contract within eight days.

While Entergy expressed confidence that a walkout would be averted, a spokesman for Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America said the two sides were far apart on basic issues like salaries and health benefits.

Last month, workers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a walkout, and this week union members were signing up for picket duty.

"Given the status of the talks, I would say they are on a collision course with a strike," said Steve Mangione, a spokesman for Local 1-2. "They are miles apart on the key issues and still very far apart on issues that are usually settled by now."

The contract, set to expire at midnight Jan. 17, affects 276 workers at the Indian Point 3 nuclear reactor. The contract for an additional 282 workers at the adjacent Indian Point 2 reactor will not expire until June, and those workers would not participate in a walkout, union officials said.

There would be no impact on the security of the plant, in Buchanan, N.Y., Entergy officials said, because the security force, which guards the two reactors against terrorism or other crimes, is not covered by the contract.

Entergy has a plan in place to keep Indian Point 3 running in the event of a walkout. The plan calls for the substitution of management personnel for the maintenance and operations workers.

Jim Steets, an Entergy spokesman, said the company could also borrow employees from any of the other nine nuclear power plants the company owns, including Indian Point 2.

In the meantime, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is devising its own strategy to deal with a possible walkout. The agency has two inspectors monitoring operations at Indian Point during the normal day shift, said Neil A. Sheehan, a spokesman. In a walkout, the number of inspectors would increase to provide round-the-clock coverage, he said.

Mr. Sheehan said the agency had reviewed Entergy's contingency plan and considered it acceptable. Labor walkouts at nuclear power plants are not common, he said, but they do occur.

Last summer, for instance, there was a 76-day walkout by electrical workers at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey Township, N.J., Mr. Sheehan said.

And in 1983, workers staged a walkout for nine weeks at Indian Point 2 when that reactor was owned by Con Edison, according to Mr. Steets, and the plant operated continuously during the walkout.

"They did exactly what Indian Point would do if they had a walkout," Mr. Sheehan said of the owners of the Oyster Creek plant. "They deferred a lot of work and they had managers who were trained to handle the key responsibilities, including the job of control-room operator."

Still, union officials questioned the ability of managers to step into the shoes of workers with years of experience.

According to Mr. Mangione, in recent weeks management-level employees at Indian Point 3 have shadowed operations and maintenance workers for two 12-hour shifts.

"They are basically getting a 24-hour crash course in how to run a nuclear power plant," Mr. Mangione said. "The elected officials should be very concerned that Entergy is playing Russian roulette with public safety. No matter what they say, they cannot guarantee the safe operation or the security of Indian Point."

Entergy officials sounded confident that if a walkout were to occur, the plant would continue operating without incident.

"We've been preparing for the possibility of a strike for quite some time," Mr. Steets said. "Many of the management staff have performed these duties before."

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