04.28.2009 – More than 800 Automated Flight Service Specialists (AFSS) at Lockheed Martin are now represented by the Machinists union after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certified the results of their vote for the IAM.
The Flight Service Specialists work at twelve sites and three hub facilities across the continental United States and Hawaii. The work was formerly performed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and was contracted to Lockheed Martin in 2006.
The current vote comes a little over one year after a previous attempt to win IAM representation that ended in a one-vote loss.
“The Flight Service Specialists at Lockheed did not give up and stuck together,” said Headquarters GVP Rich Michalski. “This is a great victory for them and a strong signal that in these tough economic times, workers want the benefits of union representation – job security, a secure retirement and the pay and benefits that support a healthy middle class.
The IAM currently represents more than 15,000 Lockheed Martin employees under thirty-five contracts at forty-six sites nationwide. More than half of these contracts are negotiated under the unique guidelines of the Service Contract Act. The IAM is the preeminent union in North America for service contract workers with more members in this specialized sector than any other organization.
