Negotiations to Resume with Vance Contractors

June, 2009 - Contract negotiations between IAM Local 898 and contractors at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, OK, are set to resume following a public invitation by the union for company representatives to return to the bargaining table.

“The IAM stands ready, as we have from the last day of negotiations, to resolve the issues of the strike with CSC at Vance Air Force Base and to return our members to work as soon as a new agreement is ratified,” said District 171 Directing Business Rep. Jerry McCune. “The issues remain clear and should, and can be, resolved quickly, if the company is prepared and committed to resolve the issues at the heart of this dispute.”

Members of Local 898 voted overwhelmingly to strike CSC Applied Technologies and three sub-contractors at Vance following a company proposal that gutted seniority protection and increased members’ health care costs.

The Local 898 Negotiating Committee rejected an offer by the company earlier this week to extend the expired collective bargaining agreement if employees would return to work.

“The Air Force does not need a workforce concerned about unresolved issues with their employer, and the possibility of a further work stoppage at the end of any ‘contract extension,’” explained McCune. “They need a stable work force for the long term and a contract in place that’s good for the Air Force, the company, the workers and the citizens of Enid, OK.”