More than 3,000 Pratt & Whitney machinists are set to go on strike just after midnight Monday morning after rejecting the aerospace manufacturer’s latest offer in negotiations.
Union officials from Machinist (IAM) Locals 700 and 1746 said their members voted to stop work at the company’s East Hartford and Middletown plants after Pratt & Whitney failed to address adequate wage increases, rising health insurance expenses, retirement benefits, and job security in their offer.
These machinists build, maintain, and test both commercial and military aircrafts for Pratt & Whitney.
“For months, we have negotiated in good faith with Pratt & Whitney in hopes of reaching a fair contract that reflects the billions in profits our members make for the company,” said IAM Local 700 President Wayne McCarthy.
Howie Huestis, President of IAM Local 1746, said, “This strike is about dignity, respect, job security and protecting middle-class jobs in Connecticut,” adding, "We are ready to hold the line for as long as it takes to secure a contract that recognizes the value we create every single day for the company.”
Senator Richard Blumenthal offered his support for the striking workers in a statement:
“I stand with Machinists in fighting for basic workplace fairness— decent, well-deserved pay, pensions and job security. Workers need long term certainty in jobs and income to make the American dream real. Our state’s prosperity and progress depends on proper, fair treatment of workers, especially at Pratt where their products are critical to our national defense.”
Pratt & Whitney responded to news of the strike with their own statement:
“Pratt & Whitney’s offer competitively compensates our workforce while ensuring P&W can grow in an increasingly competitive marketplace, creating ongoing economic opportunity in the state of Connecticut. Our message to union leaders throughout this thoughtful process has been simple: higher pay, better retirement savings, more days off and more flexibility. Our local workforce is among the highest compensated in the region and the industry – our offer built on that foundation. We have no immediate plans to resume negotiations at this time and we have contingency plans in place to maintain operations and to meet our customer commitments.”