Appeals Court Upholds Order to Keep Plants Open
In a major win for workers, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction that prevents Pratt & Whitney from closing plants in Cheshire and East Hartford, Conn., and throwing some 1,000 workers onto the street.
Machinists (IAM) District 26 had filed suit saying the decision to move the work violated their contract. A federal judge issued an injunction in February 2010 preventing the closings. United Technologies Corp. (UTC), Pratt’s parent company, appealed to the federal appeals court.
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.
