Union Negotiators, Pratt Officials Sit Down For Contract Talks

Union negotiators and company officials from Pratt & Whitney faced each other for the first round of contract talks Tuesday. Workers at the jet engine maker will take an initial strike vote later today. WNPR’s Harriet Jones reports.

As the talks got underway promptly Tuesday morning, the atmosphere at the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell was cordial, but both sides are under no illusion about what’s at stake in these negotiations.

“Without a doubt, the elephant in the room if you will, will be the issue of job security.”

Chief negotiator for the Machinists Union, Jim Parent. Earlier this year a court ruled that Pratt could not shut down two engine repair plants in Cheshire and East Hartford because of the job security language in the workers’ contract. These talks will be the company’s opportunity to remove that language. Parent says all of the Connecticut plants are united behind the effort to keep it.

“The solidarity is there because the workers recognize that if Cheshire goes, who’s next? And if you can close a profitable plant like Cheshire, then what’s to prevent them from taking the next step, if we do not have the job security language, and closing Middletown or East Hartford. So, there’s going to be heck of a fight really to preserve it.”

Workers will take a preliminary strike vote today – it’s standard procedure in the early stages of any negotiation, but Parent acknowledges that the possibility of a strike is closer than he’s seen it for many years. Pratt & Whitney executives arriving for the talks didn’t speak to the media, and a statement issued later in the day said the company will not comment until a deal emerges or the talks fail. The machinists’ contract expires December 5th.

For WNPR, I'm Harriet Jones.