Long Beach : 2 Unions Schedule Rally

Local officials of McDonnell Douglas Corp.’s two largest unions have scheduled a rally Sunday, hoping to force the company back to the bargaining table after seven months of on-and-off contract negotiations.

“We’re going to give a lot of detail about what can be done to bring more pressure on the company,” said Bob Berghoff, president of United Auto Workers Local 148.

The UAW and the International Assn. of Machinists’ Lodge 720 will co-sponsor the rally at 10 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach.

The UAW represents about 9,500 workers at Douglas Aircraft’s large Long Beach plant, and the IAM represents about 5,000 workers at Douglas’ Long Beach and Torrance plants and at McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co. in Huntington Beach.

A work slowdown by union employees in January forced the company to notify customers that aircraft deliveries would be delayed this year. The voluntary slowdown continues, Berghoff said.

There have been no negotiations since early February, Berghoff said. However, McDonnell Douglas implemented the pay provisions of its contract offers to both unions a month ago. It also began to deduct from payroll and pension checks a payment for health insurance. The medical co-payment has been a key issue of dispute in negotiations.