02/15/2009

Associated Press

After more than half a century, the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General has decided the use of federal funds to provide meals for workers on overtime at the Hanford nuclear reservation must end.

An agency memorandum was issued following a review of contract performance by Fluor Hanford and former tank farm contractor CH2M Hill Hanford Group in 2007.

Since 1955, Hanford labor agreements have included a meal provision for workers on overtime. Under the latest contract, they're entitled to one meal after 10 hours of work and another for every six hours on the job thereafter.

The 586-square-mile complex has no cafeteria, and the few food wagons usually close by 4 p.m. Many workers who get a 30-minute lunch break are 30 miles from the nearest eateries in Richland.

"We're so isolated out there," said Dave Molnaa, president of the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council.

Fluor purchased frozen meals in bulk and stored them at Hanford warehouses. Both companies then requisitioned the food as needed, providing $103,000 worth of meals for workers on overtime in fiscal 2007, the review found.

That spending violated Government Accountability Office restrictions under which federal money may be used to buy food or meals only when specifically authorized by law or under unexpected, extreme emergency conditions involving immediate danger to life or destruction of federal property.

The meals will continue to be provided to organized labor workers until collective bargaining agreements expire, but the federal agency does not plan to reimburse contractors for the meals under new labor agreements.

Reimbursement for the meals will be discontinued immediately for the much smaller percentage of overtime workers not covered by bargaining agreements.

Molnaa said the change was not the doing of contractors.

"Contractors are in a no-win situation," he said.

Overtime meals will be discussed in the current collective bargaining negotiations between the union, Washington Closure Hanford and two new contractors, CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. and Washington River Protection Solutions.

The incoming contractors were informed last year that they likely would not be reimbursed for overtime meal costs, and contractors were notified in writing recently of the change in policy.

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Information from: Tri-City Herald, http://www.tri-cityherald.com