Wed, Sep 15, 2010
Current Contract Set To Expire Sunday
The union representing machinists working at Cessna in Wichita
have recommended that the rank and file members reject a contract
offer from the plane maker it received Tuesday and walk off the
job.
"We must report to you that our negotiations with Cessna were
not successful," union leaders for Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Local 774 wrote in an open letter to the membership. "Your
Negotiating Committee has worked to give the company the
flexibility they requested for today’s environment, while
protecting the membership of this union, their employees. We have
worked hard to come to an agreement that was good for both
sides."
Under the terms of Cessna's "last-and-best" offer, union members
would be required to pick up more of their health care premiums,
which the union said amounted to a 160 percent increase in some
cases. There would be no pay increase for the next 4 years, and
only one percent increases for some employees in the following
three years of the contract, regardless of the condition of the
economy. The Wichita Eagle reports that union leaders said
in a statement that the only "job security" in the contract was a
pledge to keeping the final assembly of the Citation family of
airplanes in Wichita. The paper indicated that Cessna CEO Jack
Pelton said in a statement the contract offer is fair, given the
state of both the economy and the aviation industry.
The vote on accepting or rejecting the contract requires only a
simple majority vote, according to the paper, but a strike vote
requires the assent of two-thirds of the union members who cast
votes. If a majority votes to reject the contract, but the strike
vote threshold is not reached, the contract is considered accepted
by default. The vote on the contract is scheduled for Saturday.
"Your Negotiating Committee is unanimous in recommending that you
vote to REJECT the contract offer and vote to STRIKE," the letter
concluded.
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