Striking Iowa Rockwell Workers OK Pact

Electrical workers at a Rockwell International Corp. plant in Iowa approved a five-year labor agreement Friday to end a 16-day walkout, but fellow union workers at a Rockwell plant in Newport Beach remained on strike. Local 1634 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents about 700 workers in Coralville, agreed to return to work Sunday. Terms of the contract were not released. But union officials have said that workers wanted better pay and benefits, including retention of their current medical plan and eye care coverage. Union workers remain on strike at the Rockwell Semiconductor Systems business in Newport Beach, but operations continue while both sides arrange for talks. The union represents 630 workers. Costa Mesa-based Rockwell International employs about 48,000 people worldwide in operations that include industrial automation, avionics and communications.