Lockheed Strikers Will Vote on Tentative Accord
Lockheed Corp. and negotiators for 935 union workers who have been striking Lockheed facilities in Upland, Chino and Ontario have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, company and union officials said Thursday.
Negotiators for Local Lodge 821 of the International Assn. of Machinists accepted a three-year wage and benefit offer Tuesday night and will submit the proposal for a ratification vote Saturday.
If approved, the agreement would end a strike that began March 12.
Machinists at the three plants voted to strike after rejecting a proposal by Lockheed Aircraft Service Corp. Leaders of the union local said the offer was inferior to a three-year pact accepted March 4 by about 18,000 machinists at Lockheed manufacturing plants in Burbank, Sunnyvale, Calif., and Marietta, Ga.
The two sides, assisted by a federal mediator, compromised on a number of issues after a nine-week impasse, said Bob Gregory, a union negotiator. For example, union workers at the Burbank plant were given a $2,500 signing bonus. Gregory said Lockheed had initially offered no signing bonus to his workers, but the two sides eventually agreed to a $2,000 signing bonus.
Burbank workers received a 4% wage increase. Under the proposed pact negotiated Tuesday, all of the striking workers would receive a 5% bonus during the first year. Some striking workers would receive a 3% wage increase during the second and third years of the contract and others would receive bonuses amounting to 5% of their salaries during that two-year period. The two sides also compromised on a cost-of-living formula, Gregory said.
Lockheed officials had said that the firm could not afford to match the Burbank-Palmdale offer because the Upland, Chino and Ontario operations are not production facilities. More than 1,000 supervisors and salaried employees maintained some operations during the strike, involving the maintenance and modification on Air Force aircraft.
Lockheed would not provide details on the proposed contract.
