Rockwell Employees OK Contract, End Strike

A 49-day strike against Rockwell International Corp.’s semiconductor systems unit in Newport Beach ended Thursday as members of the electrical workers union ratified a new five-year contract.

The settlement comes as Costa Mesa-based Rockwell prepares to spin off the semiconductor operation as a separate, publicly traded company. The deal is expected to make the transition easier.

“It’s very important to get everything in order,” said Lisa Pelgrim, an analyst with the research group Dataquest. “This is not a great time to be in the semiconductor market. . . . Having people on strike means they’re not working to make products. With the pricing and the margins as low as they are right now, you can’t afford to have your employees not working.”

Terms of the pact were not disclosed. A woman at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2995 office in Santa Ana said members ratified the new pact Thursday afternoon.

“We’re glad it’s over,” said the woman, who declined to identify herself. “We’ve been out long enough.”

The strike by 630 of the plant’s 2,800 employees was called May 28 in a dispute over wages and scheduling. The union spokeswoman said the new contract is similar to the company’s original offer.

“We are pleased that an agreement has been reached with IBEW,” said Dwight Decker, president of Rockwell Semiconductor Systems. “We believe that the agreement addresses the needs of both parties.”

Picketers left their posts in front of the company’s Newport Beach plant after receiving word Thursday that the contract had been approved. They are scheduled to return to their jobs beginning Sunday.

A Rockwell spokesman said the strike did not disrupt production schedules. The semiconductor division “met all of its customers’ needs,” he said.

A separate strike by IBEW members at Rockwell’s aircraft electrical equipment division in Iowa started the same day as the Newport Beach strike, but it was settled with a new contract agreement June 12.