The Machinists union is taking its fight with Pratt & Whitney to federal court in an attempt to halt the jet engine maker's plan to move 1,000 jobs from Connecticut to Georgia and overseas.
On Monday, about two dozen machinists union workers and their supporters stood defiant inside their East Hartford headquarters Monday evening, pledging that they would bring a lawsuit to federal court.
James Parent, the chief representative of the local union of the International Association of Machinists, says Pratt & Whitney failed to make every reasonable effort to keep the jobs in Connecticut as required by its contract with the union.
Company spokesman Greg Brostowicz says Pratt & Whitney negotiated genuinely, but the union rejected a proposal to reduce costs.
"As we have made clear … the decision to close these facilities was made only after making every effort to identify alternatives that would make these businesses competitive and preserve the work in Connecticut,” the company said in a statement issued before receiving the complaint. “We followed the process outlined in the collective bargaining agreement, acted in good faith at all times and are confident that we will prevail in this matter.”
The engine manufacturer announced on Monday that it is closing the Cheshire Engine Center and Connecticut Airfoil Operations Center in East Hartford, cutting more than 1,000 jobs.
At a news conference earlier that day, Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines & Global Services Vice President Tom Mayes said it was a very difficult decision.
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"The company made every effort and explored all options to preserve this work," Mayes said.
The machinist union disagreed, saying it felt nearly two months of negotiations were a sham.
"We truly believe (the) company had its mind made up before it came to the table," Parent said.
It all came down to savings to the company.
The machinists union said it offered $41.7 million in hard, cost-saving measures. The state of Connecticut also offered $20 million per year in incentives to the company for the next five years.
But Pratt & Whitney officials said the analysis of actual savings came out differently.
"Unfortunately, the union's proposals and the state's offer, which we value together at $30.8 million, still left us far short of the $53.8 million in annual recurring, quantifiable savings we needed to keep these operations competitive and preserve this work in Connecticut," Vice President Mayes said during the news conference.
"Our key issues are volume losses, labor costs, and the sustainability of operations in the long-term," said Mayes. "The state's proposal could not sufficiently address these critical issues."
The union said its only option is to file a federal lawsuit against Pratt & Whitney.
"If they won't listen to us then hopefully we get a federal judge that agrees with us, that the company didn't make every reasonable effort to preserve the work in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement," said Jim Parent.
Many elected officials stood beside the union workers at the new conference on Monday, including Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, House Speaker Chris Donovan and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
"My frustration and disappointment is immeasurable," said Democratic Senator Gary LeBeau, who represents East Hartford.
The union says its attorneys will file the lawsuit in Hartford Federal Court Tuesday.
Pratt & Whitney says it plans to close the Connecticut Airfoil Repair Operations in East Hartford by second quarter 2010 and the Cheshire Engine Center by early 2011.
Layoffs will be phased beginning in early 2010.
