SEARCH
Judge to Pratt & Whitney: Keep Work in U.S. |
|
A federal court issued an injunction Feb. 4 against Pratt & Whitney, preventing the company from moving work and equipment out of their Cheshire and East Hartford, Conn., plants and keeping 1,000 hourly and salaried workers on the job. Machinists (IAM) District 26 had filed suit, saying the decision to move the work violated their contract.
The ruling stops the company’s immediate plans to move the work to Singapore, Japan and the state of Georgiia. The contract expires on Dec.10, 2010. IAM officials say the union is gearing up for a fight to preserve these jobs and expand opportunities in the next contract.
Jim Parent, assistant business rep for District 26, said:
We have a big job ahead of us now, securing these jobs in the next contract. We’re ready for a fight, if that’s what it takes. But we hope that after the dust settles, the company will recognize what we have said all along–these are the most highly skilled overhaul, repair and refurbishment workers in the world. Pratt may think that moving the work will save costs, but quality and reliability are crucial in aerospace operations. If they want the best performance possible for their demanding customers, Pratt should keep the work here.
Pratt & Whitney management informed IAM members last July that they intended to close the two facilities, and rejected all proposals to keep the work in Connecticut, including millions of dollars in concessions offered by the union–and up to $100 million in proposed aid from the state.
Through the lawsuit, the IAM obtained evidence showing that Pratt’s corporate parent, United Technologies Corp., had been planning to close these two facilities long before giving notice to the union, and had rejected options that would have kept the jobs in Connecticut.
No Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
