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Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-11) commended the Nuclear National Security Agency for reevaluating the benefits package for Lawrence Livermore Laboratory employees the NNSA announced two weeks ago. The previously announced package would have represented a decline from the benefits package available to current lab employees.
“I met with hundreds of Livermore Lab employees last week and heard from hundreds more through emails and phone calls to my offices,” Rep. McNerney said. “Late last week, I took all of those comments and concerns and brought them directly to the NNSA and Energy Secretary Bodman. Based on feedback the proposed plan received, the Department of Energy will now offer a benefits package on par with benefits received by employees at Los Alamos National Laboratory,” Rep. McNerney continued.
Implementing the benefits package originally proposed by the NNSA would have eliminated the pay parity between the two national labs that ensure the safety of the country’s nuclear stockpile, Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore. This would have compromised the important national tradition of laboratory competition.
“It is critical that the compensation provided to Livermore Lab employees is good enough to attract the best talent for the laboratory,” said Rep. McNerney. “The original NNSA-proposed package was not in the best interest of the laboratories, the scientific community, or national security.”
“This move is a great first step towards providing lab employees with appropriate benefits. I will continue to work with the NNSA and the Department of Energy to ensure employees receive the benefits they deserve, thus ensuring that Lawrence Livermore can continue the groundbreaking work in the national interest, for which it has a richly deserved reputation,” Rep. McNerney said.
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