Machinists strike at Lockheed plant
National union steps back, allows walkout in Marietta
By DAVE HIRSCHMAN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/08/05
Amid strong wind and rain, as well as a heavy police presence, striking machinists at Lockheed Martin's Marietta plant maintained picket lines at four facility entrances Tuesday.
Machinists had traded power tools for picket signs hours earlier, walking out shortly after midnight in the first day of their strike against Lockheed.
Workers who build F/A-22 fighters and C-130J transports waved protest signs outside employee entrances at the sprawling Marietta plant.
By about 8 a.m. there was a heavy show of force by Cobb County police, but no physical clashes. Picketers said some union members had crossed picket lines, but they had firm estimates yet of the number.
The picketing was being staffed in four-hour shifts at each of the plant's four gates, with about 50 total strikers.
The stong wind had blown over some of their tents, which they reinforced with extra lines and stakes to hold them in the muddy soil. Camping heaters were being used to help them stay warm in the dawn's chill.
More than two hours earlier, about 10 workers were staffing the picket line at the main entrance to the plant's sprawling parking lot on South Cobb Drive as a half-dozen others stood under a tarp, protecting themselves from a cold, wind-driven rain.
The workers walked back and forth across the driveway into the plant, but when the traffic light changed, they parted to let dozens of cars enter. It was not clear whether those cars were Lockheed management reporting for work, or other employees crossing the picket line.
Occasionally, the picketers would heckle and jeer at the cars entering the lot. Several Cobb County police officers sat in patrol cars at each of plant's entrances, but the picketing appeared to be peaceful.
Mediators had been hoping for a fresh round of talks but said late Monday that none had occurred.
Leaders of the International Association of Machinists declined to block a walkout that could halt aircraft production at the 62-year-old facility.
"The majority has spoken at Local 709 and the international will support them," said John Crowdis, a national IAM negotiator. "I'm disappointed we weren't able to reach an agreement that a majority of the membership felt they could ratify. They believe they're fighting for what's right."
IAM Local 709 rejected a tentative agreement Feb. 27 that would have raised wages 10 percent over three years and given its 2,800 members $1,500 signing bonuses. But the deal also would have raised health care and retirement insurance costs. IAM locals in California ratified the deal.
The strike marked the second walkout in three years and the first time the union waged job actions in successive contract negotiations. Local 709 members struck for 49 days in 2002 and nearly halted aircraft deliveries as managers took up unfamiliar assembly line positions.
But that walkout was widely seen as a union defeat when workers accepted contract terms virtually identical to those they had previously rejected.
Local 709 President Cornell "Slim" Stevens said members know the financial hardships and uncertainty that prolonged strikes can bring. Workers in Marietta are over 50 on average and earn about $56,000 a year including $3,000 in overtime.
They become eligible for IAM strike pay of $150 a week after two weeks on picket lines. Stevens said Local 709 members are determined to win contract gains they couldn't get at the bargaining table. "This membership is skillful and intelligent," he said. "They've helped this company earn great profits, and they're not satisfied with what's been offered."
Both planes produced in Marietta are targeted for Pentagon budget cuts or elimination in next year's budget, and aerospace analysts say cost increases or production delays could accelerate their demise.
The F/A-22, set to go into front-line Air Force service in December, faces deep cuts, with production ending as early as 2007. Production of the C-130J Hercules, built in Marietta for 51 years, is set to end next year unless backers in Congress prevail.
"The Raptor and the Hercules are both endangered species," said Loren Thompson, defense analyst at the Lexington Institute. "The future survival of the Marietta plant is highly uncertain."
Some Local 709 members who opposed a strike accused the union's former leaders of creating the current crisis. The IAM ousted 16 Local 709 officials in 2003, accusing them of improperly taking or failing to account for more than $150,000. Those former officials are suing the IAM and challenging their dismissals.
Some union members said several former Local 709 leaders, including former President Jim Carroll, lobbied against the tentative agreement and engineered its defeat. "They knew voter turnout would be low because most people were under the assumption [the tentative agreement] would pass," said Steve Weicht, a 20-year Lockheed worker who said he voted to ratify. "They have their own vendetta against the company and the union, and they derailed the vote. The old guard is fighting this thing for personal reasons."
Local 709 members rejected the proposed contract 1,240 to 602; strike authorization passed 1,408 to 435. About 1,000 Local 709 members didn't vote.
Carroll declined interview requests Monday. His lawyer, Steve Leibel, denied Carroll campaigned against the tentative agreement. "Mr. Carroll has not put out any union literature," Leibel said. "He hasn't spoken against the contract or advised anyone how to vote. He personally voted against the contract, but it was a personal vote."
Shortly after midnight, dozens of striking machinists carried signs and coolers and set up tents outside the Lockheed gates. "I wanted to stand outside the gate and applaud the people who showed up at midnight," said Marion Boineau, a seven-year Lockheed employee. "I wanted them to know that I'm as much behind them as they are behind me."
-- Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this article.
