Across UCOR, ten union stewards serve our workforce—four at ORNL, three at Y-12, one who is stationed at White Wing Scrapyard and Heritage Center, and two at the transportation hub. These volunteers continue performing their primary responsibilities while also serving as a trusted colleague. They are a trained sole source of information to help our teammates from the union understand their rights, benefits, and responsibilities outlined in our Project Labor Agreement.
A union steward isn’t just a resource; they are a supporter. Sometimes this support means stepping in to help educate and communicate with our upper-level management, building trust between our workforce and ultimately strengthening our labor-management practices. Union stewards help leadership better understand challenges employees face so they can work together to solve it.
Recently, this partnership allowed Clint Wolfley, UCOR Senior Vice President of End State Delivery, to address an issue at the Y-12 work front with our trusted union leadership, including a steward and a safety advocate after questions and concerns were raised by the workforce regarding heat stress controls.
Together, union leaders, members of the Y-12 workforce, and Clint walked down the work area, identified opportunities for improvement, and took action to improve. This included enhanced controls set up within the facility, improved communications, and more. Not all issues were resolved on the spot, but an agreed upon plan was established and will be implemented to further enhance workplace protocols.
Improvements to the work area couldn’t have been made if it wasn’t for our union stewards collecting valuable feedback from the field. This positive labor management partnership takes effort on all sides, from supervisors, managers, and Labor Relations. Our union stewards facilitate this working relationship so we can achieve our shared goal of supporting our workforce while safely accomplishing our cleanup mission.
The union stewards meet monthly with leadership to navigate challenges and promote a positive labor management partnership
