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| IAM members voted Wednesday to accept a four-year contract offer from Triumph Composite Systems in Spokane, WA. More than 400 workers at the plant had been locked out for over six weeks. |
IAM Local 86 members in Spokane, WA voted this week by 82 percent to ratify a new four-year contract with Triumph Composite Systems, ending a six-week lockout at the aerospace parts factory.
More than 400 members have been locked out at Triumph since May 10. Ninety-three percent of IAM members at the company voted May 9 to authorize a strike, but Triumph moved to lock them out before the strike began.
“What has happened here over the past six weeks is a shining example of the power of union membership where workers have the right to bargain with their employer,” said IAM District 751 President Jon Holden. “Our members stood together and supported each other. By doing that, they won a better contract that improves the quality of life for everyone who works at Triumph Composites. In the process, they made the Spokane community and its economy just that much stronger.”
The contract includes pay raises, bonuses totaling $7,000 per member, a cap on health care costs and a new company-funded retirement savings plan for employees hired since 2013. It also cuts in half a two-tier pay scale and allows for the IAM and Triumph to better explore alternatives to outsourcing.
“The courageous fervency and solidarity of our members at Triumph proved, once again, that IAM voices will not be stifled,” said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary Allen.
“This lockout tested the membership of Local 86 and they came through it with flying colors,” said IAM International President Bob Martinez. “I am extremely proud of their unity, from the bargaining committee to the picket line. This membership deserves our highest respect.”
The IAM is the largest union in the aerospace industry. District 751 represents nearly 33,000 members at 53 employers.
