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June 20, 2009

Agreement reached: IAMAW members to vote Monday on new contract

By Chris Dell, Staff Writer

As members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 898 continue their nearly two-week walkout at Vance Air Force Base, there finally may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Representatives for IAMAW and CSC Applied Technologies LLC came to an agreement for a new contract proposal Saturday after hours of “hard-nosed bargaining,” according to Jerry McCune, IAMAW District Lodge 171 president and directing business operator.

Written copies of the new agreement have been provided to the nearly 800 IAMAW union members, and the issue will be put to a vote Monday. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“I think each member will vote on their good conscience,” said McCune. “It’s hard to predict.”

If the contract is approved, it would end the strike against CSC, Vance’s primary civilian employer, and three sub-contractors: PRI/DJI, M1 Support Services and DenMar Services.

McCune, who has been the primary representative of IAMAW Local Lodge 898, said workers would return Tuesday and planes will be back in the air Friday, if the new contract is accepted.

If it is rejected, the strike will continue and workers could continue to walk the picket line.

“The parties have reached tentative agreement on virtually every outstanding issue,” said Gary Richardson, CSC program manager at Vance, in a prepared statement.

Richardson said the new agreement includes a 3.75 percent wage increase and a 20-cents-per-hour pension increase at the end of each contract year. He would not comment on any other specifics.

McCune said negotiations began progressing Saturday about mid-afternoon, when CSC representatives made a “good economic proposal, which enabled us to move forward.”

McCune said the union “did well on some issues, not well on others.” One of the issues that didn’t completely satisfy him involved health insurance, but he wouldn’t comment on specifics. He said the union “did fine on sick days,” which was another sticking point in prior negotiations.

Union members struck down CSC’s last offer on June 6 by a 96 percent margin. Despite efforts by U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe to mediate an eleventh-hour deal on June 7, workers began the strike June 8. Since then, hundreds of civilians have walked the picket line near Vance’s west gate.

All flights at Vance have been grounded since the strike began, and 27 student pilots and instructors on Monday were shipped to a pair of Texas Air Force bases to continue their training. It is unclear when or if they will return.

Vance was the first Air Force pilot training base to employ civilian contractors. CSC has been the primary contractor since December 2002, when it purchased DynCorp Technical Services for $950 million.

The last strike at Vance occurred 44 years ago, when firefighters walked out for two months.

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