Contract Approved for 3,000 in Alabama

Members of IAM Local 2003 who maintain aircraft at Ft. Rucker, AL put their solidarity on display with marches while their negotiators worked out a new contract.

Nearly 3,000 members of IAM Local 2003 in Daleville, AL are earning higher wages and better benefits after ratifying a new 3-year contract reached this past weekend with Army Fleet Support representatives at Ft. Rucker.

More than 2,500 red-shirted Machinists, who maintain aircraft at the Army base, turned out and voted to accept the new agreement by a 6 - 1 margin after hearing contract details at a ratification meeting held at the Ozark Civic Center on May 1. Negotiations for the new contract began on March 30 and did not conclude until the day before the vote.

Highlights of the new accord include annual pay hikes of 4 ½, 4 and 4 percent and an IAM pension plan increase that boosts members’ retirement from $93 dollars per month for each year of service to $116 per month by the end of the contract. Responding to members’ concerns over rising health care costs, IAM negotiators brokered contract language that prevents any increase in members’ health care costs during the life of the agreement. Additional features of the new contract include strengthened IAM dental and 401(k) plan language.

“The bargaining committee did a terrific job during these negotiations and the ratification results show the members appreciate their efforts,” said IAM Aerospace Coordinator Dick Schneider. “Special thanks should go to the members of Local 2003 and District 75 Directing Business Representative B.R. Brownell, who was so critical to the success of this great team effort.”

Negotiators were also able to restore unambiguous contract language regarding seniority and successfully resolved fifteen outstanding arbitration cases involving members’ overtime concerns.

Local 851 Ratifies Contract with Caterpillar

IAM members of Local 851 in Joliet, IL voted by a 2-1 margin on April 30 to approve a new seven-year agreement with equipment maker Caterpillar, Inc. The contract, covering 900 active employees and nearly 3,000 retirees, includes higher wages, lump sum payments, signing bonuses and restores key benefits lost when the construction equipment industry was mired in a deep recession.

The 11 th-hour settlement brings to a close the latest chapter of labor relations at the world's largest maker of construction and earth moving equipment. During the 1990's, the name Caterpillar was synonymous with labor strife during a bitter 6-year strike by the United Auto Workers.

The negotiations leading up to this weekend's accord were difficult, but ultimately produced contract terms that were endorsed by the negotiating committee. “The last 48 hours saw the most movement,” said District 55 Business Representative Joe Pluger, quoted in the Joliet Herald News. The prior agreement was set to expire on April 30, and members had previously authorized strike action if the company's final offer was not satisfactory.

“This new labor agreement brings our members at CAT back in line with the wages, benefits and working conditions they deserve,” said IAM Midwest Territory GVP James E. Brown. “I'm extremely proud of the Local 851 membership. They displayed the solidarity and strength that gave the negotiating team the backing they needed to conclude these successful negotiations. With the membership solidly behind them, the Local 851 committee provided first class representation during negotiations.”

Gephardt Returns to Familiar Role

Former Congressman Richard Gephardt(left) met with IP Tom Buffenbarger (right) and representatives of Onex Corp. at IAM Headquarters to discuss labor issues related to the pending sale of Boeing’s commercial aircraft operations in Wichita. KS.

Former Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt lent his experience and stature to the talks between the IAM and Onex Corp., the Canadian buyout firm seeking to close a $1.2 billion deal to purchase Boeing’s Wichita and Tulsa operations.

Gephardt is serving as an advisor on “transition labor matters,” related to the pending sale, which requires new agreements with the Machinists Union (IAM), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA). “Dick Gephardt is a good friend and would be a welcome addition at any bargaining table where IAM members are fighting for their jobs and their families,” said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger. “His credentials as an advocate for working Americans are simply without equal. We believe he can be a real asset to resolving the problems created by Boeing’s decision to sell its commercial aircraft operations in Wichita and Tulsa.”

Gephardt joined IP Buffenbarger and representatives from Onex today at IAM Headquarters to see if the bargaining process could be moved forward. “We had fruitful discussions with Onex today and we hope that negotiations can resume in the near future,” said IAM Aerospace Coordinator Dick Schneider.

Gephardt was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 2005 and served as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. His 1995 involvement in a bitter contract dispute between McDonnell Douglas and the IAM is widely credited with helping produce a successful resolution.

House Committee Approves Pair of Rail Bills

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved bipartisan legislation that would provide $60 billion for high-speed rail and rail infrastructure projects and Amtrak funding legislation providing the nation's passenger rail carrier with $2 billion annually for the next three years.

The Railroad Infrastructure Development and Expansion Act for the 21st Century (RIDE 21) - H.R. 1631 - focuses on High Speed Corridor Development and expands the rail infrastructure loan program.

“It is shameful that the United States, the world's leading economy, is a third-world country when it comes to passenger rail,” said Ranking Democrat James Oberstar (D-MN). “High speed rail attracts passengers and keeps them off the congested highways and out of the crowded airports. And it does so at a very practical, reasonable price.”

Ride 21 preserves the rights of rail workers under existing collective bargaining agreements and is expected to provide thousands of new jobs as high-speed rail expands across the nation.

Separately, the Committee approved legislation (H.R. 1630) that would authorize annual funding of $2 billion over the next three years to finance Amtrak's capital and operating expenses. According to Amtrak, this level of funding would be sufficient to begin to address critical needs outlined in its five year capital plan, which is geared to restoring the Amtrak system to a good state of repair.

Both bills now move to the full house for a vote. Click here to contact your House Representative and urge their support of both these critical rail bills.

IAM Warns Boeing Over Strategic Direction

Concerns over Boeing’s decision to shed much of its manufacturing capability were evident at the annual shareholder meeting in Chicago, where union leaders charged executives with pursuing a risk-filled strategy that will leave the company and the country devoid of a critical industrial resource.

The Chicago-based aerospace company’s decade-long strategy of cutting back on apprentice programs and capital investments while outsourcing large portions of aircraft production is driving the company closer to a demographic cliff, say union leaders, where sufficiently skilled production workers and engineers will no longer be available to produce critical new ideas and products.

Despite bluntly worded warnings from representatives of several unions, Boeing appears intent on moving more and more aircraft production out of the U.S. or into the hands of vendors. The company’s board of directors also rejected shareholder efforts to install two widely respected academics, Tom Kochan of MIT and Joesph Stiglitz of Columbia University, on the company’s board. “These are two of the most widely respected professionals working in America today and Boeing would have been fortunate to have their advice and counsel on their board,” said Steve Sleigh, IAM Director of Strategic Resources. “Boeing never even gave them the time of day.”

Base Closing Commission Opens for Business

The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) opens for business today with the swearing in of Commission members and the first day of hearings. The 2005 Commission is the first in the last ten years and the fifth since 1988. .

The Pentagon will release its recommendations for base closings and realignment by May 16. Under realignment, the Pentagon would shift resources from one base to another to consolidate missions. The Commission, whose members are appointed by President Bush, has the power to add or drop bases from the Pentagon’s recommendations. The Commission will hold hearings, visit each base on the list and has until September 8, 2005 to make final recommendations to President Bush.

The president then has until Nov 7, 2005 to send a final list to Congress. Neither the president nor Congress can add or subtract bases from the list. Congress must then vote to accept or reject the list in its entirety. If Congress approves the recommendations, the list becomes binding in 45 days.

For more information about the BRAC process, go to http://www.defenselink.mil/brac/. Today’s hearing will be broadcast on CSPAN2, for programming information go to www.cspan.org.

 

 

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