OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WATE) —Labor tensions are rising in Oak Ridge as a group of union workers says concerns about the future of local jobs have pushed them back to the picket line this week. 6 News spoke to a local union worker with Knoxville Building & Construction Trades Council and leaders with the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Central Labor Union as they are looking for Kairos Power to negotiate a project labor agreement for its Hermes Reactor project.
Union workers lined up on Oak Ridge Turnpike as early as 5 a.m. Monday morning, marking the third week of what they call informational picketing, following a Thanksgiving break. Members told 6 News that solidarity is the most important thing as they look to support a united vision in Oak Ridge.
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“We have a labor shortage, and if that’s the case and you have billions of dollars of work in our backyard, well. Let’s build up our community. And the only way to do that is to guarantee them an opportunity on these projects,” said Christopher O’Keefe, the business manager of Iron Workers Local 384, which is part of the Knoxville Building & Construction Trades Council.
Kairos Power is developing its Hermes reactor in Oak Ridge and has hired some union workers for the project from the Knoxville Building & Construction Trades Council. But the Knoxville–Oak Ridge Central Labor Council says there is still no project labor agreement reached at this point. The labor council shared that an agreement would ensure safer, more reliable, good-paying jobs for local workers…