About 12,000 retired Oak Ridge workers
are drawing support from their elected officials in Washington,
although it's too early to say if that will translate into bigger
pension checks.
Ex-contractor employees at the U.S. Department of Energy
plants in Oak Ridge have complained for years that their retirement
benefits don't come close to those at other DOE facilities - notably
Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. Worse yet,
they said, that disparity seems to get worse all the time.
After organizing a retirees group years ago and going public
with their concerns, thousands of people received a pension adjustment
in early 2001. But that wasn't enough, the group said at the time, and
additional adjustments - as well as regular cost-of-living increases -
are being sought by the Coalition of Oak Ridge Retired Employees
(CORRE).
Over the past couple of months, Tennessee's congressmen and
senators have sent letters to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. They
urged Abraham to give renewed attention to the Oak Ridge retirees and
their pension concerns.
While DOE does not directly control the pension funds for
contractor employees at Oak Ridge and other federal sites, the agency
does have input and generally must concur with the way those pensions
are handled.
U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, whose district includes Oak Ridge, and
U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., whose district includes a great number of
retirees, were among the congressmen who co-signed a Feb. 27 letter.
"The pensions of retirees in Oak Ridge have not been adjusted
on a regular basis to keep the pensions up to a reasonable percentage
of their original value,'' the Tennessee congressmen wrote to Abraham.
"While Oak Ridge retirees have received only two adjustments since
1984, retirees of some DOE facilities have received larger pension from
larger multipliers for years of service and annual adjustments for
cost-of-living increases.''
Retirees of different DOE facilities should be treated
equitably, the congressmen wrote.
Oak Ridge retirees have a dramatically reduced initial
pension, with nothing in place to compensate them for inflation, they
said.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and U.S. Sen. Lamar
Alexander also sent a letter - dated March 18 - to the energy
secretary.
"We urge that you give CORRE's concerns and any request for an
increase in pension benefits appropriate consideration to promote fair
and equitable treatment among all DOE-contractor retirees, provided
that the proposal would not endanger the long-term viability of the
pension fund,'' the Republican senators wrote.
In CORRE's position paper, the group proposes three actions:
An ad hoc increase in pension benefits for all early
retirees and regular retirees to restore 75 percent of the loss in
value of their pensions that occurred due to increased cost of living
since their retirement. The increases would be based on the year of
retirement and range from 3 percent for 2002 retirees to 38 percent for
those who retired in 1969.
A minimum monthly pension benefit of $600 ($400 for
surviving spouses) for retirees with at least 20 years of company
service.
Appointment of a retired employee to pension advisory boards
at BWXT (for the Y-12 plant) and UT-Battelle (for Oak Ridge National
Laboratory).
Other goals include a cost-of-living adjustment while
assuring no reduction in other benefits, such as insurance.
According to the retiree group, DOE has not made payments
into the Oak Ridge pension trust fund since 1984.
While the fund's once-enormous surplus has declined
significantly because of stock-market losses, no new funds would be
needed for proposed adjustments in 2003, the group said. However, CORRE
said it would be prudent for DOE and its contractors to resume annual
payments to the trust fund to cover new liabilities.
The retirees insist this is not just a selfish money-grab on
their part. It's about fairness and making Oak Ridge an attractive
place to work for future employees.
Here's their pitch:
"If the DOE operating contractors in Oak Ridge expect to
remain competitive in the marketplace for world-class scientific,
technical and manufacturing talent, they have a lot of catching up to
do relative to benefits for employees, particularly pension benefits.''
Senior Writer Frank Munger covers the Department of
Energy for the News Sentinel. He can be reached at 865-342-6329 or at munger@knews.com. This column is
also available in the opinion section of knoxnews.com.
