Pratt & Whitney Lays Off Repair Workers

38 workers at Pratt & Whitney’s Cheshire repair plant were given layoff notices Monday. But their union says it’s filing charges against the company before the National Labor Relations Board. WNPR’s Harriet Jones reports.

The layoff is part of an effort to reduce the Cheshire workforce by 129. 91 workers decided last week to take a buyout package or to transfer to other facilities, but the jet engine maker did issue pink slips to the remaining number Monday. Pratt says the workforce reduction is necessary because of a falling volume of work, but the International Association of Machinists has urged the company to deal with the situation by way of temporary furloughs rather than permanent layoffs. IAM local 1746 president Wayne McCarthy, who leads the Cheshire workers says the company’s position doesn’t make sense to him.

“Currently in the shop we’re working 10 hours a day. They asked us if we wanted to come in and work this weekend, additional overtime. So with 512 workers currently working overtime just to keep up with the schedule, if 129 workers are going to be let go, we find it very difficult to understand how the work’s going to be getting done.”

The union says it will bring its case before the National Labor Relations Board, saying the reduction is a retaliation against the Cheshire workers for filing a lawsuit against the company. The union won that case when a judge ruled that the facility, along with one in East Hartford was protected from closure by job security language in workers’ contracts.

For WNPR, I'm Harriet Jones.