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Saturday, April 1, 2000
CCAD workers fear effects of payout
Some believe depot could close or lose work
By Deborah Martinez
Caller-Times
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| Dockens |
A federal arbitrator's multimillion-dollar decision against the Corpus Christi Army Depot has some workers worrying rather than rejoicing.
And it has its military leaders grappling with what they say is a decision that could affect South Texas and the nation's armed forces.
CCAD employee Richard Caballero said he and his co-workers fear they'll lose their jobs if positions have to be cut to make the $49 million payout to at least 2,000 depot employees that a federal arbitrator said were exposed to hazardous levels of asbestos contamination.
Col. Mitch Dockens, commanding officer at the depot, is weighing his options: appeal, which would mean interest on the $49 million if the appeal fails, or find a way to pay the money. He has said the depot's budget can't handle such a large unplanned expense.
Capt. Rick Marcantonio, commanding officer at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, where CCAD is located, wonders what kind a blow the local community would suffer if the depot had to temporarily close to meet the arbitrator's asbestos contamination standards, which are virtually zero tolerance.
Caballero worries what will happen if CCAD raises its rates for military contracts to pay the judgment. He thinks work would be lost to private firms that also do helicopter repair.
A decreased workload would leave the depot vulnerable as a target for closure, he said.
"This is really scaring a lot of people now," said Caballero, who as a floor supervisor doesn't qualify for the back pay.
Some fear getting sick from asbestos, and others wonder if they're going to lose their jobs, Caballero said.
"We've got paranoia here running rampant," he said.
Brian Bishop, an attorney for the unions, said the fears wouldn't exist if Army officials had settled the case in 1997 when the American Federation of Government Employees, International Association of Machinists and National Federation of Federal Employees filed grievances.
The $49 million is not an award for health damages but rather a reimbursement for the 8 percent salary increase not given to employees, Bishop said.
Normally, personnel are given an hourly salary increase for exposure to hazardous work conditions, officials said.
In this case, CCAD workers would receive pay dating back six years before the asbestos grievances were filed.
The Army has until April 23 to decide whether to appeal, Bishop said.
Dockens said Friday he didn't want to rush into a decision and planned to use the 30-day response period to decide.
Dockens released a letter to his employees on Friday, saying asbestos contamination levels at the depot met the federal safety levels set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
He said 95 percent of the asbestos at the depot has been cleared and the remaining asbestos is kept sealed off from employees.
But the arbitrator's decision said there should be virtually no asbestos contamination.
Marcantonio said that in the past five years the Navy went through the buildings on the base to get to the federal safety levels, but it would take at least another decade to get contamination to zero.
"If we are endangering (the workers), then the OSHA standard is wrong," Marcantonio said. "If the standard is zero tolerance then the depot would close down. That would be an unfortunate thing for the entire community."
Joe Gonzales, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the unions' intent was to make the Army more aware of asbestos contamination's health effects. The union didn't want to set off alarms with workers and the community about the depot's future.
Union and CCAD officials plan to have private meetings next week, Dockens said.
Bishop, who works for an Austin-based law firm, said Army officials haven't called him to discuss the arbitrator's decision but is open to negotiation.
Staff writer Deborah Mart¡nez can be reached at 886-3618 or by e-mail _at martinezd@caller.com
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