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| The Local 933 Negotiating Committee and Western Territory Representatives, standing, from left, Aerospace Coordinator Ron Eldridge; Western Territory General Vice President Gary Allen; Local 933 Committeemen Andy Lopez and John Catalano; Local 933 President Leigh Petersen; Local 933 Committeeman Dan Aguirre and Grand Lodge Representative Bud Duryea. Sitting, from left, Local 933 Directing Business Representative J. E. “Jimbo” Watson, Negotiating Committee Chairman Louis Martinez and Committee Secretary Rick Vargas. |
Contract talks between IAM Local 933 representatives and Raytheon Missile Systems are in the final stretch with the contract set to expire on October 28, 2012. Talks have been ongoing since early this month when Western Territory General Vice President Gary Allen attended the official opening of negotiations.
The Old Pueblo Lodge 933 Negotiations Committee has been preparing for bargaining since last January when they attended the Negotiation Preparation for Bargaining Committee class at the IAM’s William W. Winpisinger Education Center. Each class is customized for the local lodge negotiating committee and includes training in all phases of contract negotiations from analyzing bargaining unit surveys to conducting simulated negotiations with Winpisinger Center instructors who play the part of hard-ball company negotiators. Since the class, the Local 933 Negotiations Committee has been working very hard to ensure that the membership is prepared for these negotiations.
“Our members’ hard work has positioned Raytheon Missile Systems as one the premier defense companies in the world,” said James Watson, IAM Local Lodge 933 Directing Business Representative. “Now is the time for Raytheon to show Local 933 members the respect we deserve and have earned. Raytheon can do that by giving us the job security we want, by offering affordable health and welfare benefits, and by rewarding us with industry-setting general wage increases.”
“I am confident that the Local 933 Negotiations Committee has the tools they need, and has done the homework required, to do what is necessary to negotiate a fair contract for the members who work at Raytheon,” said Gary Allen, General Vice President of the Western Territory. “All of the members of the Western Territory wish you the best in these negotiations.”
The outcome of these negotiations will affect approximately 1,565 members who currently work at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona.
For more information, visit www.iam933.org
