Hamilton Sundstrand union members voting on tentative labor deal

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.rrstar.com/communities/x1902440640/Hamilton-Sundstrand-union-members-voting-on-tentative-labor-deal


RRSTAR.COM STAFF REPORTS
Posted May 18, 2008 @ 04:12 PM
ROCKFORD —

Rank-and-file members of United Aerospace Workers Local 592 were voting this afternoon on a tentative labor deal reached with Hamilton Sundstrand on Friday.

Hundreds of cars filled the parking lot at Tebala Shrine Temple, 7910 Newburg Road, as members moved in and out of the building starting around 2 p.m. Union representatives said the vote was expected to wrap up around 4:30 p.m. and they would be able to comment on the results at that time.

Several people who stopped on their way out of the building refused to comment on how they voted. But many members were carrying “picketing slips,” and they talked about being ready for any of the three shifts of pickets that could take place if the contract fails.

The union’s current contract with Hamilton Sundstrand expires at midnight tonight.

The tentative contract makes significant changes to benefits for the union’s 400 members by pushing more health insurance premiums from employer to workers.

The three-year deal also calls for annual raises of 3.5 percent.

Ted Dever, president of the local, earlier said if the contract doesn’t get ratified workers could try to work without a contract and go back to the tables to work something out,

In 2003, when union members overwhelmingly rejected the first tentative contract offer from Hamilton Sundstrand, the company locked them out for more than five weeks.