This series of pages list the news articles that have appeared in CORRE News.  In addition, several publications have been gracious in extending us the privilege of listing their articles on Oak Ridge pensions.  In particular, we are grateful to the Knoxville News-Sentinel and the Oak Ridger.

Links to these newspapers:  Knoxville News-Sentinel

                                           The Oak Ridger

Revised Principles for Administration of the Oak Ridge Pension Fund, February 20, 2002

Principles for administration of the pension funds of the Oak Ridge operating contractors of DOE were revised by the CORRE Board of Directors at its meeting February 20, 2002.   The major change was the addition of the principle that the operating contractors would have representation on their pension boards from the retiree community.  CORRE is recommending the addition of two representatives- one that retired from ORNL and one that retired from Y-12.

The preamble to the document follows:

The following Principles have been adopted by CORRE* as those that are fair, reasonable, and ethical to guide the administration and management of the Pension Fund by the current Oak Ridge Contractors, BWXT and UT-Battelle, in meeting the retirement benefits commitment to current and future retirees from Oak Ridge facilities.

For the text of the entire document, click here.  Principles Document

Letter to Senator Fred Thompson, February 13, 2002

A letter was sent to Senator Fred Thompson on February 13, 2002 requesting his assistance in getting a response from the U.S. Department of Labor on a number of issues related to the administration of the pension funds by the DOE operating contractors.  The text of the letter to Senator Thompson is available on the correspondence page.  The original letter of John Jones presenting the issues to DOL last August may also be review in the correspondence section. 

RETIREE COALITION GENERAL MEETING TO BE HELD 

OCTOBER 29 AT OAK RIDGE CIVIC CENTER

The annual meeting of CORRE will be held in the A&B Rooms at the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 2:00 p.m., Monday, October 29, 2001.  A summary of the current pension issues and the actions of CORRE will be presented.  Officers and members of the Board of Directors will be elected.  Active members of the organization are qualified to vote.  Retirees may become active members by making a one-time contribution of $20.

Retirees may suggest candidates for the offices and board of CORRE by contacting a member of the Nominating Committee, who are Ed Krieg, Chairman; Julia Hoppe, John Jones, Troy Trotter, and Bill Wilcox.

Change of Address of CORRE Website

Letter from CORRE President Charlie Kuykendall regarding the annual meeting (Letter dated October 10, 2001) 

Coalition Of Oak Ridge Retired Employees (CORRE)

107 Antioch Drive

Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830

October 10, 2001

To: CORRE Active Members

From: Charlie Kuykendall, President

The first annual meeting of CORRE will be held at 2:00 p.m., Monday, October 29, 2001, at the Oak Ridge Civic Center (1401 Turnpike). At this meeting, we will report to you on the work CORRE is continuing to do. We will also attempt to address your questions and concerns.

Another important part of the meeting will be the election of officers and other board members. A nominating committee, consisting of Ed Krieg (Chairman), Julia Hoppe, John Jones, Troy Trotter, and Bill Wilcox, has submitted a slate of candidates as shown below, and you will be asked to vote on these candidates. Others may be nominated from the floor, if the candidate is present, is an "active" member, and has given his or her consent. Board members are elected for a term of two years.

This letter is addressed to our nearly 300 "Active Members" (those who have contributed at least $20). Our bylaws state that each Active Member present at the annual meeting will have one vote. However, we would like to emphasize that all our retirees are welcome to attend the meeting. We are still recruiting active members and need your help. Would each of you please recruit at least 10 new active members from retirees you know! Hope to see all of you at the annual meeting!

______________________________________________________________________________

Officers Organizational Contacts

President Charlie Kuykendall ATLC Jackie Holloway

1^st Vice President Dave Reichle PACE Ben Gaylor

2^nd Vice President Jackie Holloway K-25 Joe Dykstra

Secretary Mary Helen Rose Y-12 Ken Bernander

Treasurer Harry Carper ORNL John E. Jones Jr.

Communications Bob Wesley Central Staff Marigrace Kirstowsky

Board Members at Large

Emerson Arnold Tom Lemons Joe Setaro

Frank Carringer A. L. (Pete) Lotts Harwell Smith

Ben Johnson Troy Trotter Don Wood

Fred Jones John Sergent

1. Opening Remarks Charlie Kuykendall, President

2. Treasurer’s Report Harry Carper, Treasurer

3. Benefits Committee Report (Goals) John E. Jones Jr., for Committee

4. Legislative Interactions Report A. L. (Pete) Lotts, for Committee

5. Web Site and Communications Bob Wesley, Communications

6. Nominating Committee Report Ed Krieg, Committee Chair

and Election of Board Members

7. Question and Answer Period

Charlie Kuykendall notes new Bylaws with request for membership by retirees. (June 27, 2001)

Over the past two months a CORRE team has been hard at work on Bylaws for our still pretty new organization, deciding on how best to organize ourselves to continue the work we need to do representing the best interests of our 13,000 retirees. The bylaws committee has concluded their work and, after lots of discussion by your Board, we have adopted a set of Bylaws. You can read them on our Website (click here), or get a copy from our Secretary, Mary Helen Rose, 483-6808.

One of the articles deals with the question of who is a member? The answer is all 13,000, and they are called General Members. If you retired from one of the three major facilities in Oak Ridge, you are one of us. If you want to be active in supporting the work of CORRE and donate $20 to its work (one time), we will list you as an Active Member.

We plan annual meetings in October of each year and will send letters to Active Members with specifics about that meeting. All retirees, Active Members or General Members, who attend will be welcome.

We encourage all retirees who have not done so to become Active Members of CORRE. We need your participation and support to clearly demonstrate to the Oak Ridge management you are strongly behind us and, at the same time, to provide resources to help in carrying out the work. If you have not yet contributed at least $20 please do so today. Make checks payable to CORRE and send to our Treasurer, Harry Carper, 159 Outer Drive, Oak Ridge, 37830.

Letters to Congressmen (June 20, 2001) 

New Position Statement on Pension Equity and Present Goals of CORRE

A new statement of the present goals of CORRE relative to the pension funds has been released.  Click on this link to review it.  Present Goals of CORRE.

Charlie Kuykendall expresses appreciation for your support  (May 19, 2001)

The Coalition of Oak Ridge Retired Employees (CORRE) represents about 13,000 retirees in the Oak Ridge area and really appreciates your interest and support in carrying out our mission. We are in the process of developing bylaws which provides for a continuing organization, regular monthly meetings of the Board of Directors, and an annual information and business meeting to be held sometime in the Fall. During the annual meeting we will provide you with information about our activities and future objectives and solicit your input. As we move forward we continue to receive financial support from retirees for current and projected expenses. A special tax-free bank account, which will be audited annually, has been established in CORRE’s name. The average gift has been about $20. If you have not taken the opportunity to make your contribution, please do it now by sending a check payable to CORRE, addressed to Harry Carper, Treasurer, 159 Outer Drive, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Be sure to give him your return address and enclose your e-mail address.

March 29, 2001

(Story last updated at 12:53 p.m. on Thursday, March 29, 2001- from the Oak Ridger)

Retirees granted pension increases

by Paul Parson
Oak Ridger staff

After months of lobbying, around 13,000 Department of Energy contractor retirees starting in June will receive an increase in their pension checks of 4 percent to 23 percent, depending on date of retirement.

BWXT Y-12, which administers the pension fund under its contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex for DOE, announced the increases Wednesday afternoon. Covered under the pension fund are retired employees from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12, in addition to those who retired from the Oak Ridge K-25 Site prior to April 1, 1998.

The increases are to offset half of the rise in the Consumer Price Index since the last pension hike in 1992, BWXT Y-12 officials said. Those eligible for the increase are employees who retired from active service prior to April 1, 1998, and their surviving spouses. Officials said the increases will be reflected in the June pension checks and will be retroactive to April 1.

Members of the Coalition of Oak Ridge Retired Employees, a group formed last fall specifically to represent local workers covered under the pension fund, say they are pleased with BWXT Y-12's decision to grant increases in pension payments.

"Over 2,500 of these pensioners are over the age of 80, and the rising cost of living has brought about financial hardship in many of these families," said Bob Wesley, communications director for the coalition.

However, Wesley said the coalition was disappointed that the request for a $600 monthly minimum for retired employees and $400 for surviving spouses was not approved by the BWXT Y-12 pension review team.

He said the coalition will continue to work toward the goal of obtaining regular cost-of-living adjustments for retirees and surviving spouses.

"This will require continual retiree participation and the assistance of federal and state legislators," Wesley said.

The retirees' quest for pension increases began in October when a group of local unions submitted a proposal to DOE calling for changes in the pension fund, which had a $1 billion surplus. Since then, a petition requesting legislative support for a pension increase has been distributed and signed by more than 200 retirees, and U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd District, went on the record encouraging DOE and private contractors to look at significantly increasing pensions for retired workers.

In December, BWXT Y-12 held a series of workshops in Oak Ridge and Knox County to hear the retirees' concerns and provide them with answers to questions about the pension fund.

Wesley said the coalition is pleased that the new adjustment plan presented by BWXT Y-12 does not contain an effort to effect a "420 Transfer," a situation that would permit the contractor to extract money from the pension fund to pay for such things as shortages in the contractor's overhead expenses.

"Coalition members fear that once the removal of money from the pension fund by the contractor for other uses is begun, it would soon become a common practice and continue until the present pension fund was depleted to its legal minimum," Wesley said. "Such a practice might make it virtually impossible to maintain a pension fund surplus and would prevent the possibility for pensioners to obtained desired future cost-of-living adjustments."

BWXT Y-12's plan also calls for the elimination of the pension reduction for retirees who retired prior to April 1, 1990, elected the "surviving spouse" benefits option, and have outlived their spouses.

However, the deal also calls for an increase in medical and drug plan co-payments, excluding mail-order prescriptions. These increases will apply to all active employees covered under the CIGNA and Aetna insurance plans.

DOE and UT-Battelle, which manages ORNL, signed off on BWXT Y-12's pension plan. Under the deal, active salaried employees of BWXT Y-12 and UT-Battelle will also face an increase in medical and drug plan co-payments in addition to a 15-percent jump in the pension-calculation formula.

March 17, 2001

March 14, 2001

January 24, 2001

KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL
January 24, 2001

LONG WAIT CONTINUES FOR OAK RIDGE RETIREES

By Frank Munger (column excerpt)

Thousands of retired Oak Ridge contractor employees are waiting and wondering
whether they'll get a pension increase, and it looks like they'll have to
wait a while longer.

It's not yet clear when the pension committee will meet to consider the
issue, and apparently nobody is pushing the urgency button.

BWXT President John Mitchell, who met with retirees during a series of
informational sessions late last year, indicated the committee probably would
convene sometime in the spring.

Asked to be more specific, a BWXT spokesman this week responded: "Mr.
Mitchell is supposed to meet with the retirees coalition early next month,
and a date for the spring meeting may be forthcoming following that meeting."

The committee is comprised of representatives from BWXT, the federal
contractor that manages the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant and administrator of
the pension fund, and UT-Battelle, the contractor at Oak Ridge National
Laboratory.

The pension fund has a surplus reported to be in the range of $1 billion, yet
it's been years since retirees have received a pension increase.  The
situation exasperates and infuriates many retirees who say inflation and
rising insurance premiums have shrunk their monthly checks and made life more
difficult.

Bob Wesley, a spokesman for the Coalition of Oak Ridge Retired Employees,
said the situation is particularly difficult for those who retired long ago.

About 2,500 retirees are 80 or older, with 230 of them in their 90's and six
over 100 years old, he said.

"This means that nearly 20 percent of the pensioners from the plants are
living 15 to 35 years past the typical retirement age of 65," Wesley said.

He added: "While it is too early to reveal specifics of the coalition's
recommendations to be made to BWXT, I will repeat what we have said before –
that we believe the pension fund should be solely for the use of present and
future retirees.  We believe that it is in the best interests of the
pensioners, BWXT and DOE to make some adjustments as rapidly as possible.  We
are proposing increases that will help offset the large increases in the cost
of living that retirees have had to cope with in the 13 years since their
last pension increases from the company."

December 6, 2000

KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL
December 6, 2000

OR WORKERS PRESS FOR PENSION HIKE

Part of overflow crowd turned away

By Frank Munger
News-Sentinel senior writer

OAK RIDGE – A gray swarm overtook the American Museum of Science & Energy
early Tuesday as retired Oak Ridge workers made their case for a pension
increase.

More than 300 retirees jammed the museum's auditorium for the first of five
public meetings on pension benefits, and probably an equal number were turned
away, due to overcrowding.  Another overflow crowd was at Tuesday night's
session.

Tuesday's turnout likely erased any doubts, if there were any, about the
level of concern among former workers at the government's Oak Ridge
facilities.  

"There's obviously a very large public groundswell, a large group of retirees
with very strong opinions," said John Mitchell, president of BWXT, who hosted
the meeting and fielded dozens of questions.

BWXT is the new contractor at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant and
administrator of the Oak Ridge employee pension fund.  The fund provides
benefits for about 14,000 retired contractor workers from the Department of
Energy's facilities in Oak Ridge.

There's been no increase in the pension payments for a decade, and many
retirees say inflation and rising insurance costs have undercut their
financial stability.

Mitchell told the audience a few facts about the pension fund – confirming
there's a surplus of about $1 billion – and outlined the rules that control
the fund's maintenance and use.

He promised little, except that their comments would be heard and shared with
those who make policy decisions regarding the pension benefits.

It's widely believed, however, that the Department of Energy will sanction a
pension increase before too long, partly because of pressure being applied by
unions and retiree groups in Oak Ridge.  U.S. Rep Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.,
recently came out in support of the retirees and urged the department and
contractors to boost the pension benefits.

A 10-member pension committee evaluates the package every two years, and
Mitchell said the group will review the situation again next year – probably
in the spring.  The board members are appointed by BWXT and UT-Battelle, the
contractors at Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

If the committee endorses an increase, the recommendation will be forwarded
to the Department of Energy for final approval, Mitchell said.  

Many retirees are upset at the inaction, saying they worked hard for the
government during the Cold War, only to have the government turn its back on
them in retirement.  Especially galling is their inability to share in the
fund's giant surplus.  Mitchell said the fund doesn't belong to the retired
employees.  Workers at the federal plants were guaranteed certain benefits,
not a share of the pension fund, he said.

The fund's success, he said, is largely due to good investments and a
favorable economy.  The last contribution to the fund was made in 1985, he
said.

Mitchell reminded the retirees that if the situation were reversed and there
were insufficient funds to pay the promised benefits, then the contractors
and DOE would have to come up with the money to fund the account.

He also disputed the notion that the pension fund is "over funded."  He said
that won't be known until the last due benefit has been paid, and that time
is many years away.

Oak Ridge retirees who want more information on the pension plan can call
(865) 574-1500 or toll-free 1-877-861-2255.

December 5, 2000

October 27, 2000