NFB: Can you believe this?
I work Nuclear Security at Three Mile Island Nuclear power plant. Without going into specifics I just wanted to share something that happened to me this week (and is still ongoing). Keep in mind this is a long story and I can't include it all here, for length and security reasons, but it goes liek this:
A supervisor told me to do something that I felt could possibly cause us to violate an NRC rule. I refused and was threatened with insubordination. I gave in at that point but told the supervisor I would report my concerns to the NRC. I also told the supervisor that I considered this action discipline and requested my union representative. He refused!
A few days later I received my discipline for this incident. Under "Reasons for Reprimand" are the following things: "highly negative attitude" and "threatening this supervisor with a call to the NRC and his local union representative."
My right to contact the NRC with safety or security concerns is protected under federal law, as is my right to request uinion representation when I feel I am being disciplined! And they put this right in black and white on my discipline form!! This company (Wackenhut) has been fined in the past by the NRC for firing an employee who refused to work a 7th straight day of 12 hours shifts. The employee claimed it would cause him to become unfit for duty and refused to work it. Wackenhut fired him. It is against NRC rules to fire smeone for claiming to be unfit for duty.
While I feel my plant is better than most as far as security's ability and working conditions go, it's still not great. For a few ideas of the company I'm fighting here, check out the following links. They of course, don't get the whole stroy right, but you'll get the gist of the nuclear security industry after 9/11. I just wonder how the NRC and NLRB will feel when I fax them a copy of my discipline form?
Project on Government Oversight's Nuclear Security report
Eye on Wackenhut's Nuclear Security page
I feel I should say I have every confidence in the security at TMI, so no one should feel unsafe. However, I just needed to vent some frustrations against this company. There are a lot of other things we have pending against them too, including back pay issues for making us work off the clock. We have even contacted our congessmen because the state's investigation that we initiated is being stalled by Wackenhut!! ARG!
sorry, off my soapbox now!
A supervisor told me to do something that I felt could possibly cause us to violate an NRC rule. I refused and was threatened with insubordination. I gave in at that point but told the supervisor I would report my concerns to the NRC. I also told the supervisor that I considered this action discipline and requested my union representative. He refused!
A few days later I received my discipline for this incident. Under "Reasons for Reprimand" are the following things: "highly negative attitude" and "threatening this supervisor with a call to the NRC and his local union representative."
My right to contact the NRC with safety or security concerns is protected under federal law, as is my right to request uinion representation when I feel I am being disciplined! And they put this right in black and white on my discipline form!! This company (Wackenhut) has been fined in the past by the NRC for firing an employee who refused to work a 7th straight day of 12 hours shifts. The employee claimed it would cause him to become unfit for duty and refused to work it. Wackenhut fired him. It is against NRC rules to fire smeone for claiming to be unfit for duty.
While I feel my plant is better than most as far as security's ability and working conditions go, it's still not great. For a few ideas of the company I'm fighting here, check out the following links. They of course, don't get the whole stroy right, but you'll get the gist of the nuclear security industry after 9/11. I just wonder how the NRC and NLRB will feel when I fax them a copy of my discipline form?
Project on Government Oversight's Nuclear Security report
Eye on Wackenhut's Nuclear Security page
I feel I should say I have every confidence in the security at TMI, so no one should feel unsafe. However, I just needed to vent some frustrations against this company. There are a lot of other things we have pending against them too, including back pay issues for making us work off the clock. We have even contacted our congessmen because the state's investigation that we initiated is being stalled by Wackenhut!! ARG!
sorry, off my soapbox now!
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