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| IAM members in Wichita, KS, held a rally to support their negotiators and to oppose additional outsourcing of work to Mexico. |
Gathered in the heat outside the hotel where negotiations are taking place between District 70 and Spirit AeroSystems, workers and their families carried ‘Jobs Worth Fighting For’ signs and cheered as union leaders praised Spirit as the only aerospace company in Wichita, KS, that has refused to outsource work to Mexico.
Bombardier and Cessna have both outsourced work from Wichita to Mexico, while Hawker Beechcraft has closed its Salina plant and recently notified the union it intends to outsource more work.
“Each time one of these companies moves work to Mexico, it increases the pressure on other companies to do the same,” said Aerospace Coordinator Ron Eldridge. “The end result of such a cycle is lethal for the economy of this city and this state. We’re prepared to work with companies who believe in this city, but we’re prepared to fight those companies that just want to cut and run.”
IAM members at Spirit will get a look at the company’s proposal on June 21, with a ratification vote scheduled to take place on June 25. Click http://www.d70iam.org/ for the latest information about the negotiations.
Thu. June 17, 2010
The labor is cheaper in Mexico & China. What do you expect?Thu. June 17, 2010
I am a Registered Nurse for Aetna, and my husband is a Collision Center Manager here in Atlanta. Back in December 2009, through an AOPA eBrief we learned Cessna was closing operations in Columbus, GA. Here is the email we sent: Dear Mr. Oliver, My husband and I were distressed to learn of Cessna\'s decision to close the Columbus, GA plants. While we have no problem with moving the plant productions to Kansas, we have a great problem with moving production jobs to Mexico, particularly in this time of great need for jobs here in America, our jobs do not need to be migrating to another country. We realize this is a common corporate strategy, but this has to stop some where. We don\'t need an iconic company, like Cessna, contributing to the problem. Yes, the economy will turn around some day. We would like to see Cessna on a list of companies that didn\'t \"turn and run\" when things got bad.