Over 750 workers at New Piper Aircraft Company in Vero Beach, FL have a Union Contract after a vote June 30 to accept a company contract proposal by a 68 percent margin.
The workers had voted to organize with the IAM in December of 2003. New Piper has been in financial turmoil for some years, and the workers had lost many benefits the last several years, including a 6 percent across-the-board pay cut. Negotiations in 2004 were progressing, when not one but two hurricanes hit the city of Vero Beach head on. The New Piper plant took major damage, and some buildings remain unopened today. This, of course, did nothing to help New Piper’s financial shape. The disasters and subsequent rebuilding further slowed the negotiations.
The IAM Negotiating Committee finally set a deadline of Midnight, June 29th for New Piper to give the Committee a last, best and final offer. After two days of long hours and tough bargaining, the committee and New Piper reached a tentative agreement. The Committee brought the proposal before the membership with a unanimous recommendation.
Highlights include the freezing of the employee contribution to the health care plan for last year and this year, which equated to almost a dollar-an-hours savings for a worker with family health insurance coverage.
“What this contract did was to provide union protections to the workers of New Piper,” said Aerospace Coordinator Ron Eldridge. “Now they have seniority and a grievance procedure. These are important protections sorely needed at New Piper.”
“Now our job is to bring this company back to financial health, to provide good jobs on the Florida coast,” said Eldridge. “Helping put New Piper on a solid footing is important to the IAM and our members at New Piper. We are building for the future.”
“The bleeding has stopped at New Piper,” said Southern Territory General Vice President Bob Martinez. “The days of the company picking the pockets of the workers without their consent when times are tough are over. Our members now have a union contract to protect their interests.”
“This is a strong bunch of folks,” said Martinez. “The stood together and won the day. I know it was a long and hard road, but now New Piper employees will reap the rewards of their solidarity.”
