Everyone supports the shutdown of San Onofre - well, except for 1,100 members of UWUA Local 246

Every issue - and I mean every issue - has its proponents and opponents.

In a sprout-loving state such as California, nukes are really really evil. And when it was discovered that the San Onofre nuclear power plant had unusual wear and tear, there were immediate demands to close the plant. Much of the establishment in California lined up to demand the plant's closure, most notably Senator Barbara "Banks are cool when they're your bank" Boxer. Anti-nuke organizations such as Friends of the Earth also demanded action.

And they got it. Southern California Edison has announced that the plant will be permanently closed.

So Barbara Boxer is happy, Friends of the Earth are happy, and everyone's happy.

Right?

Um, no.

The shutdown of the plant will mean a reduction in staff at the plant from about 1,500 to 400.

Dan Dominguez, business manager for the Utility Workers Union of America Local 246, said he had gotten word of Edison's decision early Friday morning. Although Edison had hinted that the plant might be retired, Dominguez said the news still came as a shock.

Dominguez said he was disappointed and thought that the plant could have run safely if allowed to restart.

If you want to see 1,100 really angry people, head to a Best Western in San Clemente in a couple of weeks. This, from the UWUA 246 website, indicates that there will only be one agenda item for this union local meeting:


Meeting Information
June 2013

AGENDA:
Regular Order of Business
San Onofre

Best Western Casablanca Inn
1601 N El Camino Real
San Clemente, CA
Tuesday, June 18, 2013 @ 1:00 PM
Tuesday, June 18, 2013 @ 4:00 PM

I'd be willing to bet that the meeting won't end at 4:00 pm.

And I'd also be willing to bet that this local won't be donating money to Senator Boxer any time soon.