Lockheed Workers Reject Contract

Employees of Lockheed Martin Corp. in Palmdale rejected the aerospace company’s three-year contract proposal Sunday and voted to strike.

Of the about 1,000 International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers members who voted, 95% voted to strike, union spokesman Bob Wood said. The workers in Palmdale represent about one-sixth of the work force covered by the contract, he said.

Results from other plants, including one in Marietta, Ga., were expected late Sunday. If the workers at those plants also vote to strike, workers would walk out starting at 12:01 a.m. March 11, Wood said.

Shares of Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin rose 66 cents to $57.07 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. They have risen 22% this year.