LLNS, North Wind sign supplemental labor agreement

North Wind Services (NWS), LLC, has been selected by Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS) as the supplemental labor provider for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). LLNS manages the Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The transition from Akima Infrastructure Services (AIS), the current supplemental labor provider, to NWS will begin immediately and will be completed within 90 days.

The Laboratory has long relied on supplemental labor to fulfill near-term challenges, provide flexibility to its workforce and help provide the necessary skills mix to fulfill its missions. The Laboratory's current supplemental workforce population totals approximately 520 employees.

"We look forward to working with North Wind Services," said Director Bill Goldstein. "Well-qualified supplemental labor employees are essential to meeting the Laboratory's program objectives. I would like to thank Akima Infrastructure Services for its support over the past decade. They have been a great partner to the Lab."

AIS has served as the supplemental labor provider since 2010. With the agreement set to expire this year, LLNS issued a small business set-aside solicitation to interested providers. NWS was selected for a five-year agreement with options to renew on an annual basis for up to five additional one-year periods. NWS has a long history of providing staff augmentation and support services to the federal government and is well equipped to meet the Laboratory's needs.

"North Wind Services is thrilled with this award and the opportunity to support the science operations at LLNL. On behalf of Jim Furr, president of NWS and our team, we look forward to a successful transition and focus on the continued safe work culture for many years to come," said Christopher Leichtweis, North Wind Group president and CEO.

The transition of supplemental labor employees to the new subcontractor is expected to be seamless, with the anticipation of no time lost. Current supplemental labor employees assigned to LLNL will receive notice of termination from AIS as required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. As the new supplemental labor subcontractor, NWS will then extend offers of employment to qualified members of the supplemental labor workforce within the next 45-90 days.

Considering the current COVID-19 pandemic, NWS will hold remote meetings for the Lab's supplemental labor workforce to provide information regarding the transition.