District Lodge 27 in central and eastern Kentucky has been organizing and negotiating new contracts lately.
Business Representative Billy Stivers recently negotiated two new contracts. 40 Recently organized UPS Mechanics in Lexington and Louisville unanimously ratified an IAM contract that brought increased wages and better benefits. These were part of a National Agreement under the Automotive Department, and the negotiations were led by Automotive Director Boysen Anderson, and included groups around the nation.
“They came to us for the security of seniority and a voice in the workplace,” said DL 27 Organizer Christopher Bradley. “This contract gives them much more.”
The five-year agreement gives them over four dollars in raises over the life of the agreement, and better pension benefits. “The important thing we were able to negotiate was health care premiums,” said DL 27 Business Representative Billy Stivers. “We cut the premiums nearly in half from what they were paying, and the premium cost is frozen for the entire five-year life of the agreement. This contract certainly shows how important a union contract can be.”
The IAM organized our first group of Service Contract employees on legendary Ft. Knox. Five Weather Observation/Forecast Support technicians working for Black Box Technology Inc. voted for the IAM recently. “Without a union, Service Contract employee’s wages and benefits are limited by the government’s Area Wage Determination,” said Bradley. “They knew that to get better wages and benefits, they need a good union, and the IAM is a good fit for these highly skilled technicians.”
Brother Stivers also negotiated a new contract for 16 recently organized federal workers at Bluegrass Station in Lexington, KY. “They work for SOFSA – Special Operation Forces Support Activity,” said Stivers. “They support special ops around the world. They can’t – and don’t – talk about what they do, but these are some tough folks, and American is obviously well served by them.”
“They wanted a voice on the job, a grievance and arbitration procedure, and terms and conditions spelled out in a contract,” said Stivers. “That’s what we did.”
These are new bases for IAM organizing. “This is the first union contract on the Bluegrass Station,” said Stivers. “We think both bases will now be growth areas for us in the Service Contract arena. There is a lot of interest in unionizing, and we plan on letting the workers know what having an IAM contract can do for them.”
“The best way to grow our union is to organize, then follow up with strong contracts,” said Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez. “This is what District 27 is doing. Congratulations on a job well done.”
