Q. Craft should be able to move up through the company. That is highly unlikely right now. Why is that? They are your most experienced people.
A. Craft workers have taken on management positions throughout UCOR. The requirements for positions within UCOR vary widely and depend upon job duties, responsibilities, and several other factors. We encourage everyone to explore opportunities within UCOR and seek guidance regarding meeting qualifications to take on a new position within the company.
Q. Are we getting a raise?
A. UCOR intends to implement merit increases for the non-represented workforce in conjunction with our established salary plan. Increases will be effective Jan. 1, 2027. Note that our labor union agreements dictate raises for represented personnel.
Q. How does UCOR plan to address the increased level of competition for employees with the new companies moving into Oak Ridge.
A. UCOR is aware of the competition for a skilled and qualified workforce throughout the region. We will continue to provide competitive wages, look for ways to enhance our benefit plans, and create a work environment conducive to the needs of our employees to ensure our ability to retain the workforce needed to complete our DOE mission.
Q. What are your plans for employee retention programs? The last couple years for the program have been good, but there could definitely be improvements.
A. UCOR will continue to implement programs to reward, recognize, and retain the workforce under our current Workforce Bonus Program. We will continue to monitor best practices across DOE and other industries to look for ways to enhance our existing programs. The anonymous feedback our workforce provides each year through our participation in the “Top Workplaces” program (~3,000 comments each year) has helped us implement the UCount and TeamsCount recognition programs, along with our all-employee bonus program. Employees are encouraged to continue sharing improvement suggestions to their supervisor, along with existing feedback programs such our UCOR Swift Observation Capture and LSITs.
