Negotiations between IAM&AW District Lodge 725 and Lockheed Martin have
begun. Keep up to date by checking this page often! This page will be
expanded and updates will be posted as new information becomes available.
Latest News From The Bargaining Table
Tentative Agreements Reached at Lockheed Martin
Thursday February 28, 2008
The IAM announced today that they have reached three tentative agreements
with aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Corporation that cover nearly 6,000
Machinists at eight Lockheed facilities throughout the country. The
three-year accords secure the best pay package in the history of IAM-Lockheed
negotiations, as well as historic improvements in pension benefits. The
agreements are subject to approval by IAM members at ratification voting
which will be held at all locations on March 2, 2008.
“Aerospace firms like Lockheed Martin are posting big profits and this
agreement recognizes the key role our members play in making those profits
possible,” said International President Tom Buffenbarger. “And at
a time when American corporations are jettisoning pension plans, we improved
defined-benefit pension benefits and ensured newly hired workers will be
covered.”
The proposed agreements include a $2,000 ratification bonus in addition
to wage increases of four percent in the first year, and three percent in
the second and third years. The agreements also increase the pension benefit
by $11 to $77 a month, which would give IAM members the highest pension in
the aerospace industry. Improvements in health care coverage, insurance
benefits and other retire benefits are also included.
“These agreements set a high standard in the aerospace industry for
wages and benefits,” said IAM Aerospace Coordinator John Crowdis,
who led the negotiating teams from eight IAM locations. “The
leadership for each of the locations did an outstanding job to make this a
successful round of negotiations not only for their respective sites, but
for the Machinists union as a whole.”
Negotiators representing IAM members at Lockheed Martin facilities in
Palmdale, Sunnyvale, Santa Cruz and Vandenberg AFB, California; Cape
Canaveral, Florida; Marietta, Georgia; Meridian, Mississippi; Clarksburg,
West Virginia will return to their respective locations to present the
entire agreements to the membership. Informational and ratification meetings
will be held at all locations on March 2, 2008.
Details of the agreements are posted on
www.goiam.org/lockheed.
UPDATE FOR FEBRUARY 22, 2008
Report From IAM Aerospace Coordinator John C. Crowdis
The parties have now moved into the arena of benefits. Each committee was
given a presentation by representatives from Lockheed Martin’s corporate
office on the current status of our pension plan and an initial proposal on
Healthcare for each location. Additionally, a presentation was made at each
bargaining table for supplementary benefits for our members made available
by Machinists Custom Choices Benefits.
As for the company’s preliminary Healthcare proposal, there were many
areas of concern by our committees that will have to be addressed in further
meetings with the company. Many of their proposals would add significant
cost burden to our members and we have informed the company from the start
that cost containment on Healthcare was a major issue for our members. We
will continue address these concerns and update you as quickly as possible
with our progress on this matter.
As to our presentation of the Machinists Custom Choices Benefits program
and proposals to make these benefits available to our membership, it is time
for Lockheed Martin to recognize that we too have issues that must be
addressed in these negotiations. These offered benefits programs have been
made available for our members all across the United States and there is no
reason for them to not be available to our members working at Lockheed
Martin. If companies like Boeing, DynCorp, CSC, and L3 Com can agree to
allow our members these benefits, so can Lockheed Martin. Additionally,
United Launch Alliance, United Space Alliance and DS2 provide the
availability of the Machinists Custom Choices Benefits plans and all three
of these companies are substantially owned by Lockheed Martin. It’s time to
level the playing field.
The Union expects to be in receipt of the company’s opening wage proposal
sometime today. We suspect that it too, like their preliminary Healthcare
proposals, will be unacceptable in its initial form. We will also scan these
proposals along with the Healthcare proposals and post them quickly as
possible. We will then evaluate their proposals and begin the process of
making counter-proposals soon thereafter.
Lockheed Martin Initial Health Care Proposal
Thursday February 21, 2008
Thursday – Today Lockheed Martin health care experts unveiled the
company’s initial health care proposal. This proposal included management’s
comprehensive vision regarding benefits Lockheed Martin would like to
provide employees and their dependents.
During the review and discussion of the many changes management has
proposed to the current health plan, your Union committee demanded
additional facts and information. One of the main demands was to know the
exact amount of cost savings between the current plans and the newly
proposed plan - Unfortunately, the management team at the negotiating table
was unable to provide this reasonably demanded information.
In an effort to inform our Members without appearing to spin this most
important benefit, our committee has agreed to simply post the company’s
proposal in those area’s where proposed changes have been made.
The Union has made it clear to management that we are concerned about
increasing the employee’s share of the premium cost. The company is
proposing to increase both co-pays and deductibles that would shift plan
cost increases’ to employees and their families. It is our hope that the
company’s health care proposal is only their initial try at floating these
ideas. Time will tell! Particularly at a time of unprecedented Lockheed
Martin profits!
In addition to the company’s initial health care proposal, the Lockheed
Martin Pension Benefits staff made a state of the Pension report to your
negotiating committee. Members of the IAM Strategic Resources Department
attended this session, and are crunching numbers as this update is being
prepared. It appears the plan is sound, and that fair pension increases
would not harm its stability – As more information unfolds on this issue,
your negotiating team will post their findings.
Your Union also presented the company with a presentation of the”
Machinists Custom Choice Plan.” As previously explained to the membership,
this product allows employees to purchase additional types of Life Insurance
and other types of insurance protection. This type of plan would allow
employees through payroll deduction to purchase additional protection from
the other out of pocket cost related to cancer and/or heart related
conditions.
The Union Representatives have found during many years of negotiating
medical plans that it is not just the medical plan cost that creates a
hardship on employees. Often times it is the cost of having a loved one take
off work to care for family members that are facing serious illness, or the
other costs not covered by a standard health and welfare plan.
Your Union believes the above benefit is so important, IAM International
President, Tom Buffenbarger arranged to have the President and CEO, Bill
Loweth of the Machinists Custom Choice Plan make this proposal presentation
to the Lockheed Martin negotiating team.
Bill was able to explain the benefits and advantages of this unique
program. In addition the Union Committee was able to provide the company
with a list of employers, including some Lockheed Martin companies that are
already providing this negotiated benefit.
The Union is expecting the remainder of the company’s economic response
to our proposal soon and there is more to come.
Thanking you all for your continuing support.
Your Negotiating Committee
Click the following link to see the Company's
health care
table.
IAM&AW Negotiations Updates
The IAM has established a web site to keep our membership
informed as these important negotiations progress.
IAM&AW - Lockheed
Negotiations
IAM&AW Web Site
Union Proposals To Lockheed Martin
The following links are in Adobe Reader PDF format. Click
here to
download this program for free.
Palmdale
Sunnyvale
Marietta
IAM&AW Local Lodge web sites:
IAM
Local Lodge 727-P
Palmdale, CA
IAM Local Lodge
2228
Sunnyvale, CA
(includes link to LL 2230 Santa Cruz, CA)
IAM Local Lodge 709
Marietta, GA
IAM Local Lodge 2786
Vandenberg AFB
