skip navigational linksDOL Seal - Link to DOL Home Page
Images of lawyers, judges, courthouse, gavel
September 23, 2008         DOL Home > OALJ Home > USDOL/OALJ Reporter
USDOL/OALJ Reporter

ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION, WAB No. 67-06 (WAB Apr. 8, 1967)


CCASE: ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION DDATE: 19670408 TTEXT: ~1 [1] UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WAGE APPEALS BOARD In the Matter of ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION WAB Case No. 67-06 Petitioner IDAHO NUCLEAR CORPORATION Petitioner, and OIL, CHEMICAL AND ATOMIC WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, AFL-CIO Intervenor, Davis-Bacon Coverage and of LOFT Reactor, Idaho BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES DEPARTMENT, AFL-CIO, and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, AFL-CIO, and Dated: April 8, 1967 UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF THE PLUMBING AND PIPEFITTING INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA Before: Stuart Rothman and Clarence D. Barker. Member Smith not participating. DECISION On January 4, 1967, the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Idaho Nuclear Corporation (INC) jointly filed a petition for review of an opinion, designated DB-52, dated October 14, 1968, by the Solicitor of Labor to the effect that certain assembly work in connection with the AEC Loss of Fluid Test (LOFT) Experiment to be performed under Contract No. AT(10-1)-1230 by INC at the AEC National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS) [1] ~2 [2] in Idaho was covered by the Davis-Bacon Act. The Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers International Union (OCAW), a local union of which has a collective bargaining agreement with INC, intervened as petitioner. The Solicitor responded to the petition, as did the Building and Construction Trades Department (AFL-CIO), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada. The named parties participated in a hearing held on March 21, 1967. In addition, representatives of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association and others attended the hearing. The facts, as stated in the petition, are undisputed in their essentials, and are set out here: Description and Location of the LOFT Experiment The LOFT Experiment will be conducted at the AEC NRTS in Southeast Idaho. A. Description of the Reactor System. The following is a description of the work which is at issue and the place of its performance. The reactor system will consist of the following major components: a reactor vessel, a reactor core, control rods, control rod drives, primary system pump and piping, steam generator, pressurizer, instrumentation, and railroad dolly. 1. The reactor vessel consists of a 20-foot high by 5-foot diameter carbon steel vessel lined internally with stainless steel. Its basic purpose is to house the reactor core and control rods and to contain the primary system water. 2. The reactor core consists of approximately 4000 lbs. of uranium dioxide fuel in the form of small pellets which are contained in 3300 zirconium alloy tubes 3 feet long. The tubes are supported by two perforated plates at the top and bottom which are attached to the reactor vessel. 3. The control rods consist of a mixture of boron and stainless steel clad with stainless steel. There are twelve such rods each in the form of 4-inch cruciform blades. The rods extend up from the core through the top of the reactor [2] ~3 [3] vessel and are attached to the control rod drive. The basic purpose of the control rods is to limit and control the power output of the core. 4. The control rod drives consist of motors and associated mechanical linkage mounted on top of the reactor vessel. The basic purpose of the control rod drives is to provide a mechanism by which the control rods can be moved. 5. The steam generator consists of a carbon steel vessel 6 feet in diameter by 12 feet high which houses a number of U-shaped tubes. The purpose of the steam generator is to remove heat from the primary or reactor system and deposit it into the secondary or heat removal system. The primary system water is circulated through the tubes and heat is removed by conduction through the walls of the tubes to the low temperature secondary water. 6. The primary system pump consists of a 15,000 gpm pump driven by a 600 horse-power motor. The purpose of the pump is to circulate the primary system water through the various components. 7. The primary system piping consists of 20-inch diameter carbon steel pipes. Their basic purpose is to contain the primary system water and to provide a means by which it can be transported to the various components. 8. The pressurizer consists of a carbon steel vessel 3 feet in diameter by 17 feet long which houses electrical heaters. The basic purpose of the pressurizer is to help establish primary system pressure and to maintain it during normal operation. 9. The primary system instrumentation consists of sensors and associated electrical connections located strategically throughout the primary system. In the LOFT reactor system two types of instrumentation systems are employed, operational and experimental. The purpose of the operational instrumentation is to monitor pressure and temperature of the primary system water in the various components and to monitor the core power level. The purpose of the experimental instrumentation is to monitor core temperature, water density and forces on the components during the experiment. 10. The railroad dolly consists of a 20-foot wide by 50-foot long flatcar with 32 wheels which rest on four railroad tracks. The purpose of the dolly is to provide a means of transportation to and from the LOFT Containment facility [3] ~4 [4] and the assembly pre- and post-test examination areas in the Assembly and Maintenance Building (Bldg. 607). * * * * * Assembly of the reactor system will be performed in the 607 Building. The 607 Building was constructed approximately thirteen years ago for work in connection with the AEC Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program ("ANP"). Geographically, this building is located in the Test Area North ("TAN") Area which is in the Northwest section of the NRTS. The 607 Building is a large building 500 feet x 200 feet. It includes a large hot shop, smaller hot cells, high bay assembly areas, decontamination and change areas, machine shop, storage vault and storage pool, instrumentation and control laboratories, in which fabrication, assembly -- manufacturing -- activities are carried out. It is 1-1/4 miles from the site of the LOFT containment control facility as described in IV B below. One of the most important features of this building is a large hot shop consisting of an entire bay. A hot shop or cell is an area in which equipment or materials which are contaminated can be handled and examined by remote control equipment without contamination of other areas or to personnel. It is in this hot shop (cell) bay area that the reactor system will undergo a simulated disassembly test to determine whether the remote control equipment can cope with the geometric configuration of the assembly, and it is here that upon completion of the experiment the reactor system will be disassembled using remote control techniques, and the final effects of the tests studied. The importance of the 607 Building to the LOFT assembly and disassembly processes cannot be overemphasized. The reactor system assembly work cannot be performed in the containment and control facility presently available at NRTS. Operationally, the assembly of the reactor system must be performed in the 607 Building or a new facility constructed which would duplicate substantially the unique features of the 607 Building. The assembly process will be generally as follows: Upon procurement and receipt of the reactor pressure vessel, it will be set on a cradle which will be fabricated in the machine and sheet metal shops. After placing the reactor vessel in the cradle, instrument access nozzles will be welded into place. The vessel will then be hydrostatically tested. Assuming satisfactory completion of the hydrostatic test, the exterior of the vessel will be extensively instrumented. Following installation of instrumentation the reactor vessel will be insulated. Insulation will be installed while the reactor vessel is sitting on its cradle. Shielding consisting of water and lead will then be placed around the reactor vessel. While the work described is carried out, the two railroad cars which will be procured will be fitted together [4] ~5 [5] side-by-side and a second cradle will be fabricated and assembled on the railroad cars for receipt of the reactor vessel. The two railroad cars (dolly) will then be instrumented. In order to lift the pressure vessel and shielding as a unit, a support structure will be designed and fabricated to accommodate the lifting and movement of the vessel onto the dolly. The vessel will then be lifted by overhead cranes onto the dolly. Subsequently, the framing, piping, and additional instrumentation will be placed upon the dolly and reactor vessel. Concurrently, with the above-described operations, the reactor internals will be assembled, measured, and tested for installation in the reactor vessel. Upon installation, further extensive instrumentation will be made. This work will be performed primarily in the cold bay area of the 607 Building. As indicated above in the explanation of the importance of the hot shop in the 607 Building, the reactor system will be moved from the cold high bay assembly area of the 607 Building into the hot shop area of Building 607 where remote handling equipment will simulate a disassembly of the reactor system to test whether the remote control equipment can cope (i.e., take apart) with the geometric configuration of the assembly. If it cannot, the reactor system will be returned to the cold assembly area of the 607 Building, disassembled, and modified. When the reactor system's assembled configuration meets the disassembly requirements, it will be moved on the dolly the one and one-quarter (1-1/4) miles into the containment building where it will be plugged into utilities and instrumentation contained in the remote control building. A number of tests with a nonnuclear core will be performed. If these tests show anything wrong with the materials, workmanship, or design, the system will be unplugged and returned to the 607 Building for correction. Ultimately, the system will be in proper condition for the nuclear test in the containment building. After the nuclear test (approximately 5 days duration) the reactor system will be partially decontaminated, unplugged, and moved back to the hot shop in the 607 Building, where the reactor will be disassembled and the effects of the test studied. The "plugging in" of the reactor system to the utilities of the containment facilities involve only temporary connections to electrical and instrumentation outlets, water, air. I. The essential issue before the Wage Appeals Board is whether or not the erection of the reactor, or reactor system, for the LOFT experiment constitutes construction of a public work within the meaning of the Davis-Bacon Act. [5] ~6 [6] In support of its position that the reactor involved is not covered by the Davis-Bacon Act, the petitioners assert the following points: 1. The work involved is experimental within the meaning of AEC Procurement Regulations 9-12 and Federal Procurement Regulations 1-12.402-1(a)(2) and (3) and therefore excluded from coverage under the Davis-Bacon Act. 2. The reactor is not a "public work" within the meaning of the Davis-Bacon Act. 3. The erection of the reactor is manufacturing rather than "construction." 4. The work in question is significantly different from that performed subject to the Davis-Bacon Act in connection with the Special Power Excursion Reactor Test (SPERT) at NRTS. 5. The Board's Stanford Linear Accelerator decision (WAB 65-02) should be followed here. The contentions of the respondents are essentially the converse of these points. That is, the work involved is similar to that in the SPERT reactors; the work involved is not experimental because the experiments occur subsequent to the erection and in any event the Act does not exempt experimental work; the erection constitutes "construction" rather than manufacturing; the reactor is a "public work" under the Act. In addition, the petitioners make the following arguments: 1. The Davis-Bacon Act is not an act for determining jurisdictional assignments. 2. There is no significant Federal policy objective to be accomplished by the application of the Davis-Bacon Act, because of the [6] ~7 [7] collective bargaining agreement between INC and OCAW and the application of other federal labor relations and standards legislation. 3. The opinion rendered by the Solicitor of Labor is advisory, and the final responsibility for determining whether a particular contract involves work which is covered by the Davis-Bacon Act rests with the contracting agency. Again, the contentions of the respondents are essentially the converse of the petitioners[']. That is, workers are entitled to the prevailing wage protection of the Davis-Bacon Act regardless of lesser wages which may be prescribed in a collective bargaining agreement; and there is no issue of a jurisdictional dispute or work assignment before the Board. II. The petitioners seek to distinguish the LOFT reactor from the SPERT reactors considered subject to the Davis-Bacon Act by describing the LOFT reactor as an experiment in and of itself, and therefore different from the SPERT reactors. The AEC Procurement Regulations relied upon read as follows: AECPR 9-12.402-52(a)(5) and (6). (a) Particular contracts or work items falling within one or more of the following criteria normally will be classified as non-covered. * * * (5) Experimental development of equipment, process and devices, including assembly, fitting, installation, testing, reworking, and disassembly. This refers to equipment, processes and devices which are assembled for the purpose of conducting a test or experiment. The design may be only conceptual in character, and professional personnel responsible for the [7] ~8 [8] experiment participate in the assembly. Specifically excluded from the category of experimental development are buildings, building utility services, structural changes, and modifications to building utility services -- as distinguished from temporary connections thereto. Also specifically excluded from this category is equipment to be used for continuous testing; e.g., a machine to be continuously used for testing the tensile strength of structural members. (6) Experimental work in connection with peaceful uses of nuclear energy. This refers to equipment, processes, and devices which are assembled and/or set in place and interconnected for the purpose of conducting a test or experiment. The nature of the test or experiment is such that professional personnel responsible for the test or experiment and/or the data to be derived therefrom necessarily must participate in the assembly and interconnections. Specifically excluded from experimental work are buildings, building utility services, structural changes, drilling, tunneling, excavation and back-filling work which can be performed according to customary drawings and specifications, and utility services or modification to utility services -- as distinguished from temporary connections thereto. Work in this category may be performed in mines or other locations specifically constructed for tests or experiments. The petitioners state that the erection of the reactor system involves a configuration which is conceptual in nature; it will involve supervision and participation in the erection by professional personnel. The reactor is then described as "an experiment involving peaceful uses of nuclear energy; i.e., safety of private and public reactor facilities which are or will be utilized in the generation of electrical power." However, as noted in 41 CFR 9-12.5005-1, the quoted regulations necessarily use general language and in some cases the application of the criteria is unclear, such as in this case. The specific examples of how the criteria have been applied, which are contained in 41 CFR 9-12.5005-2, provide helpful guidance. We agree with the Solicitor that, [8] ~9 [9] for purposes of the Davis-Bacon Act, there is no significant difference between the LOFT reactor and the SPERT reactors described in 41 CFR 12.5005-2(i)(3). The SPERT reactors are being used to conduct experiments, one of which is to test various cores of different shapes and sizes. The LOFT reactor is to be used to experiment also; i.e., to determine what will happen when the coolant is withdrawn. In the former, the AEC wants to study "reactor behavior" and what happens when different kinds of shapes of cores are inserted. In the latter, it wants to study "reactor behavior" and see what happens when the coolant is removed. Both LOFT and SPERT have many characteristics of standard reactors which are built and subsequently used for experimental purposes. Experimental projects usually deal with work, the definition, delineation, or scope of welch involves such difficulties that full specification is not possible or practical. According to the facts before us, this is not that kind of situation. We conclude that the LOFT reactor is to be treated the same as the SPERT reactors for purposes of coverage under the Davis-Bacon Act. There is no question among the parties that the SPERT reactors are covered "public works" under the Act and that their erection constitutes "construction." Therefore, there is no need in this decision for further exposition on the generic and specific meanings of the terms in the administration of the Davis-Bacon Act. However, some discussion is appropriate concerning the term "construction" in view of the petitioners' contention that our Stanford Linear Accelerator decision (WAB 65-02) has precedential value here. There the contractor, Stanford University itself, was engaged in the making of a "disk-loaded waveguide" which was [9] ~10 [10] described as essentially a precision instrument. The longest piece of the dis[k]-loaded waveguide that could be feasibly put in one piece was ten feet. Each ten-foot piece was formed of 85 "disks" and two end plates, all 4" in diameter. The spaces were 1.147-inch pieces of copper pipe; the disks were 0.230 of an inch thick; and the two end plates were 0.7629 of an inch thick. The 86 spaces each had a different inside diameter; one differing from the next by about 3/4 of a thousandth of an inch. Also, each of the 85 disks had a different aperture size, ranging from 1.0323 inches to 0.7517 of an inch over the ten foot piece. Each ten-foot section was brazed together in a special furnace. Four ten-foot lengths and other equipment were then joined and fabricated into forty-foot modules. All this was done in a central laboratory. We held that the assembly of the four ten-foot sections into a forty-foot module to be a continuation and integral part of a manufacturing process, and therefore not covered by the Davis-Bacon Act. The forty-foot modules were transported to a nearby tunnel, where they were assembled into place to form the accelerator tube. The latter assembly was covered by the Davis-Bacon Act. Also, some of the arguments advanced by the petitioner in relation to the term "public work" should be discussed because of their far-reaching implications. Emphasis is placed upon the personal property exclusion from the Davis-Bacon Act in the Federal Procurement Regulations (41 CFR 1-12.402-1(a) (2) and (3) ) and the fact that the reactor will in effect be a moveable, i.e., placed upon a railroad dolly consisting of a 20-foot wide by 50-foot long flatcar with 32 wheels which is to provide a means of transportation to and from the LOFT containment facility and the [10] ~11 [11] assembly building (Bldg. 607). There is no exclusion in the Davis-Bacon Act for personal property. But its application to personal property is severely limited by (1) the Act's application to "construction" rather than manufacturing, (2) difficulties in applying the prevailing wage standard to removables, and (3) the "site of the work" limitation. Therefore, any rule for exclusion must be viewed as general. Limitations relating to application of the Act to personal property are not pertinent here. As held above, the erection involved constitutes "construction." No difficulty has been advanced as to the application of the prevailing wage standard to the area for determination. Finally, the construction site is sufficiently identifiable. It includes the containment building, the assembly building, and the intervening railroad tracks. III The petitioners contend that the ruling of the Solicitor of Labor is advisory only. The final responsibility for determining whether or not work under a particular contract is covered by the Davis-Bacon Act is said to rest with the contracting agency. To this end, reliance is placed upon Comptroller General's Opinion B150828, dated February 18, 1965, and earlier opinions cited therein to the effect that the authority given to the Secretary of Labor under Reorganization Plan No. 14 of 1950 does not extend to the actual enforcement and administration of the acts affected by the plan. We must reject this contention. Clearly, at least as far as the Executive Branch of the Government is concerned, it is well settled that interpretations by the Secretary of Labor of the Davis-Bacon Act and [11] ~12 [12] other legislation subject to Reorganization Plan No. 14 of 1950 must be observed by Federal agencies having responsibilities for their enforcement. The opinion of the Attorney General at 41 Op. A.G. 488 is controlling here. The Attorney General's opinion also concerned an interpretation of legislation subject to the reorganization plan and was to the effect that the Labor Department's interpretation was binding upon the administering agencies. Also, we note that opinions of the Comptroller General rendered shortly after the promulgation of Reorganization Plan No. 14 of 1950, are consonant with the views of the Attorney General. See C.G. opinions B-97080, dated May 9, 1951 (recognizing the debarment authority of the Secretary of Labor pursuant to rules promulgated under the plan); B-105067, dated November 6, 1951 (ruling that an interpretation of the Davis-Bacon Act by the Secretary of Labor was binding upon the Secretary of the Army); and B-109467, dated January 29, 1953 (noting that under the plan the Secretary of Labor was empowered to make investigations regarding compliance with legislation subject to the plan). The alternative of having contracting and administering agencies decide finally questions of coverage is not found to be within the intent of Reorganization Plan No. 14 of 1950. The objectives of the plan as expressed in the Message of the President transmitting it to the Congress, included making the Department of Labor the central agency for dealing with the labor statutes involved, and providing for their uniform enforcement. These objectives could not be possibly achieved if the contracting and administering agencies applying the forty-odd statutes subject to the plan had the final word in that application. The alternative [12] ~13 [13] would likely have more inimical rather than ecumenical consequences. Reorganization Plan No. 14 of 1950 has the effect of bringing together in the Secretary of Labor the powers of making wage determinations under the Davis-Bacon Act and providing for their uniform enforcement and application. It was only good sense to give the Secretary of Labor the final word as to how and when his own wage determinations are to be applied. IV The petitioners assert that the Davis-Bacon Act is not legislation for determining jurisdiction assignments between the building and construction trades unions and industrial unions. They rely upon Comptroller General's Opinion B-150828, dated February 18, 1965, which states in effect that the Davis-Bacon Act is not a statute for settling jurisdictional disputes. Similar sentiments were also expressed by the General Subcommittee on Labor of the Committee on Education and Labor following an investigation by the Special Subcommittee on Labor into the administration of the Davis-Bacon Act. See Report of the General Subcommittee on Labor of the Committee on Education and Labor, Administration of the Davis-Bacon Act, 88th Cong., 1st, Sess., p. 14 (1963) [Committee Print]. The Wage Appeals Board wholeheartedly concurs in the view that the Davis-Bacon Act is not, and was never intended to be, a vehicle for the settlement of jurisdictional disputes or the making of work assignments. However, we are of the opinion that the Solicitor's administration of the Davis-Bacon Act has not been inconsistent with this view. In determining whether or not work is subject to the Davis-Bacon Act, the sole question before the Department of Labor is whether the work constitutes construction, alteration and/or repair of public buildings or public works of the United States. It is officially blind as to [13] ~14 [14] whether a jurisdictional dispute between classes or crafts or groups of laborers or mechanics could be involved. The Department of Labor simply does not reach that question. It cannot reach it. Once it determines whether or not the work is covered, that ends its job as to that question. The Department of Labor has not acted to resolve a jurisdictional dispute between classes, crafts, or groups of employees in this case. In relation to this contention in the course of the hearing, we understood OCAW to ask for a statement clarifying whether or not a contractor or bidder having a collective bargaining agreement with an industrial labor organization may be precluded from performing a Government contract because work under the contract may be subject to the Davis-Bacon Act. The short answer is that the Davis-Bacon Act itself requires no such preclusion. Any procurement policies bearing upon the matter do not reflect any of the Davis-Bacon Act's requirements, and therefore are beyond this Board's frame of reference. V The petitioners contend that there is no significant Federal policy objective to be accomplished by the application of the Davis-Bacon Act, and therefore the Act should not be applied here. If INC performs the work, its employees will receive wages and benefits under the terms and conditions of employment set forth in a collective bargaining agreement with OCAW, the certified representative of its employees under the National Labor Relations Act, and its employees would be entitled to the labor standards protection of the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act. [14] ~15 [15] We know of nothing in the National Labor Relations Act or other Federal labor standards legislation which provides for erasing the application of the Davis-Bacon Act where it is otherwise applicable by its own terms. What the petitioners ask passes the bounds of permissible agency discretion. The gist of the petitioners' argument appears to be that employees with the protections of collective bargaining no longer need the protections of a remedial statute as the Davis-Bacon Act. We believe that upon reflection the petitioners are asking the Board through interpretation of the Act to in effect amend it, and without good reason. The Davis-Bacon Act with its own policy considerations, is a remedial statute which throughout the years has had a stable interpretation. Indeed, as a statute dealing with construction, engineering and development programs under procurement and grant-in-aid legislation, the Act requires an approach calling for precision and clarity that one would reasonably expect in connection with other specifications that go into an invitation for bids. The Act is not subject to a wide range of fluctuating interpretations and it would be a facing-about from the traditional and accepted interpretation of this statute if wide-ranging interpretation based upon "policy" considerations were now imported into it. This is not to say that there is not a scope of appropriate interpretation required for the practical administration of the statute, but the Board does not believe that the request to tie questions of collective bargaining policy into the question whether certain work is construction work within the meaning of the Davis-Bacon Act is such a proper request. [15] ~16 [16] Perhaps the best answer to the petitioners' contention on this point lies in its own position that the Davis-Bacon Act is not a statute for the resolution of jurisdictional disputes or work assignment questions. The fallacy of the petitioners' contention can best be explained by the following illustration. There are a number of labor organizations, all with bona fide collective bargaining agreements, which operate outside of the AFL-CIO. These organizations may be organized on industrial or craft lines or some other basis. The collectively bargained wage rates for the classifications of work in question may be high or low. The rates vary, as all contracting agencies are aware -- classification by classification and craft by craft -- within the building and construction trades. It needs no elaboration that when the contracting agency selects a contractor, it should make no difference whether the contractor has a collective bargaining agreement with one kind of labor organization or another, or with no labor organization at all. What appears to be public policy based on one side's wisdom or belief that their cause is the popular one and what another group may believe to be public policy may be a matter of irreconcilable conflict. The Wage Appeals Board believes that there is no need to make a choice, or indeed strike a balance, between the two lines of public policy represented by national labor relations and labor standards legislation, such as the Davis-Bacon Act. The terms of the Davis-Bacon Act and its purposes are clear, and do not take up such policy considerations. It is not for this Board, or any board or agency, to read such considerations into the Act. For these reasons, we do believe that coverage under the Davis-Bacon Act cannot be tied to questions concerning the collective bargaining situation of the contractor. [16] ~17 [17] ORDER On the basis of the foregoing and the entire record in this case, the petition is hereby denied. This 8th day of April, 1967. Stuart Rothman, Member Clarence D. Barker, Member WAGE APPEALS BOARD [17]



Phone Numbers