Machinists at Solar Turn Down Company’s Offer, Vow to Strike
Machinists at Solar Turbines Inc. on Sunday overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer by company officials and voted to strike, according to spokesmen for the union representing the employees.
Matt McKinnon, business agent for Lodge 685 of the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said the union members dismissed Solar’s “substandard” contract offer by a vote of 681 to 106 during a morning meeting at the Al Bahr Shrine Temple in Kearny Mesa.
In a second vote, workers decided by a margin of 603 to 165--well over the two-thirds support necessary--to strike at midnight Sunday unless there is a new compromise proposal from negotiators for Solar management, McKinnon said.
“We have contacted the company with our results and we are ready and willing to go back to the table and try to resolve it and go back to work,” McKinnon said. “But at this point their contract offer is just a radical, unreasonable proposal we cannot accept.”
Officials at Solar, which employs 972 machinists, could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Several Firms Involved
The Solar job action is only one in a flurry of current contract votes and disputes involving San Diego County machinists.
On Saturday, machinists at the Langley Corp. voted to reject the company’s contract offer and authorize a strike. Talks between union negotiators and Langley, a defense contractor employing about 180 machinists from IAM Lodge 389, are scheduled to resume today.
After the Solar vote Sunday, machinists at Sundstrand Turbomach followed the advice of union negotiators and approved a three-year contract with their management by a margin of 75 to 59. Turbomach, a manufacturer of small gas turbine engines, employs about 160 machinists who are members of Lodge 685 of the IAM.
McKinnon, who also serves as a negotiator for Turbomach machinists, said the union recommended approval of that contract because “it’s a good package overall” that includes a general wage increase and lump sum bonuses for workers.
Big Test at Convair
A fourth group of machinists--the largest cluster employed by one firm in the county--will vote on a new contract Saturday at General Dynamics’ Convair Division. About 4,000 workers in IAM Lodge 1125 are affected by that contract, which is still being negotiated.
McKinnon said the dispute over Solar’s three-year contract offer centers on economic issues as well as job security concerns. The union has rejected Solar’s offer to award workers 4% lump sum bonuses over the life of the contract instead of providing a general wage increase.
Workers say they object to the bonus system, which is currently in place at Solar, because they have not received a general wage increase since 1983.
Another point of contention is job security. Union leaders object to Solar’s proposal to lay off workers according to job classification instead of seniority and oppose the “bumping” and “farming out” of employees to perform work at different plants in the area.
John Webber, a spokesman for IAM Lodge 685, said he is “very optimistic” that the strike strategy will be effective.
“I’m pretty confident that because of the vote and the enthusiasm of our members we’ve sent a pretty clear message to the Solar negotiating committee that we don’t want this contract and we’re prepared to do whatever it takes to get a better one,” Webber said.
After the morning vote, union leaders spent much of the day establishing “hardship committees” to help striking members land temporary jobs during the life of the strike, Webber said.
Union officials say the last time Solar machinists walked off their jobs was in 1975. That strike lasted 123 days.
