All Talk, No Action at Pratt

The futures of more than 1,000 Pratt & Whitney workers remains in limbo. Negotiations between the machinists union and company brass continue and now it's up to Pratt whether they will close two Connecticut operations.

Pratt will not comment any further on union negotiations until the company decides if a deal can be reached.

"Pratt & Whitney and the International Association of Machinists concluded the meet-and-confer process [Sunday], and out of respect for the process, we have decided to refrain from providing details until a decision has been reached," the company said in a statement.

Pratt originally announced the move to close its Cheshire engine center and the Connecticut Airfoil Repair operation (part of its East Hartford campus) in July. The company estimates the move would save tens of millions of dollars.

Since then, the machinists union has been working with company officials to come up with more than $50 million in annual savings.

The state has also offered Pratt, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., $100 million over five years in tax credits in addition to other incentives to keep the jobs inside the borders.

"The company is evaluating the union's proposal and the state's offer, together with our own proposals and the extra value we are assigning to alternatives that keep the work in the state. We appreciate the union's and the state's efforts to work with us to try to make the Cheshire Engine Center and the Connecticut Airfoil Repair Operation businesses competitive and try to keep them open."

Sunday marked day 52 of negotiations, which have been extended another week.

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