More than 700 workers at the Hanford site in southeast Washington state could be furloughed because of the U.S. government shutdown.
A letter Wednesday from a major Hanford contractor called Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, or H2C, to the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council union, detailed the possible furloughs that would come by Oct. 20. But H2C pulled the writing back, rescinding the letter just a day later.
Still, the possibility of furloughs has sent a shiver down the spine of much of the Hanford workforce. H2C employs about 2,500 people. It manages 56 million gallons of radioactive waste at Hanford. That’s an important maneuver, just as a major plant is set to start treating tank waste — binding it up into glass logs.
Furloughs may set off a chain reaction called a “bump and roll,” meaning union workers could bump out fresher hires, taking their jobs — even at other contractors.
The threat of furloughs could also hurt the larger Tri-Cities economy.
Fall is the major fundraising gala season for many nonprofits, like the Boys & Girls Club, Tri-Cities Cancer Center, United Way and Columbia Basin College. Hanford contractors often buy entire tables, but some worry the donations might not roll in this fall.
