Twelve labor unions signed collective bargaining agreements Dec. 2 with Triad, which operates LANL. Courtesy/LANL

LANL

• Five-year agreements benefit 1,200 essential employees in the skilled building trades

Twelve labor unions signed their collective bargaining agreements Dec. 2, completing their negotiations with Triad National Security, which operates Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

These contracts represent about 1,200 essential workers in the skilled building trades including electricians, pipefitters, mechanics, sheet metal workers, operators, iron workers, painters, carpenters, roofers, laborers, teamsters, insulators and masons.

“The skilled building trades represent approximately 10 percent of the Laboratory workforce,” LANL Director Thom Mason said. “As the Lab expands its mission and invests in its facilities, these tradespeople are more essential than ever. I am grateful we have reached an agreement that benefits these employees, the New Mexico economy and our country’s national security.”

At the Laboratory, such collective bargaining negotiations take place every five years and involve an immense amount of collaboration. This process began in the summer of 2021; the new contracts go into effect in July 2022, effective through June 2027. Skilled building trades are high-paying, secure jobs, and are in demand in New Mexico and nationwide.

“We want our employees in the skilled building trades to make the Laboratory their lifelong career home,” Deputy Director for Operations Kelly Beierschmitt said. “Providing good, high-paying, sustainable jobs is one way we can drive folks to come to Northern New Mexico — and stay here long-term.”

“I believe we have the best contracts in the state, the best skilled tradesmen and women in the region and one of the safest work places in the nation,” Logistics Division Director Brian Watkins said. “The ratification of these contracts will improve on all three of those elements, and enable the Laboratory to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

“Negotiations are always tough,” said Joey Atencio, vice president of the New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council and chairman of the master agreement negotiations team. “I am encouraged that we were able to improve the livelihoods of every craft professional on the hill.”

Los Alamos National Laboratory has openings in skilled building trades. Look for jobs at www.lanl.gov/careers.

About Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Triad, a public service oriented, national security science organization equally owned by its three founding members: Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), and the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.