Rapid Response Action Call: ACT NOW: Stand with USW’s Atomic Energy Workers!

Click here to download a PDF of this Action Call.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Program (WIPP) in New Mexico is a critical part of national infrastructure. WIPP safely manages nuclear waste from clean-up sites across the United States, supporting thousands of good-paying union jobs, local businesses, and communities. The New Mexico Environment Department is proposing changes to the WIPP permit that would set mandatory limits on shipments received from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) before WIPP is able to receive shipments from other sites.

Based on the past extremely low number of shipments received at WIPP from LANL, the proposed mandatory limits would be nearly impossible to meet – meaning shipments from other cleanup sites would be halted. While this proposal is happening in one state, its impact reaches far beyond New Mexico.

Disruptions at WIPP don’t stay at WIPP.

• These changes could impact nuclear facilities and cleanup sites across the country – including those where USW members work – by creating backlogs, delaying shipments, and shifting risk onto other locations.
• That means fewer stable operations, increased uncertainty, and real consequences for working people and their communities.

USW opposes these changes because working people should not bear the cost of decisions that weaken safety, threaten jobs, and destabilize critical systems.

ACT NOW: Submit a pre-written public comment to the New Mexico Environment Department opposing this proposal.

Your voice matters in defending safe operations, good union jobs, and a national system that works for working people.
Click here to submit a comment opposing the proposed rule in New Mexico.