Darryl Putman
Electrical Technician, LL 2766 
Boeing Co., Huntsville, AL
”I’ve worked with Boeing on Space Hab and Space Lab for the Shuttle. I’ve worked on the Space Station, and I worked with Martin-Marietta in the early 1980s on the Pershing missile. But this is different.

”The Pershing was an offensive weapon. NMD is a defensive system – it’s designed for saving lives rather than taking lives.

”The cool thing about a development program like this is you’re never doing the same things, over and over again. You’re always learning, and there are always changes. We assemble and test the “black boxes” - the avionics boxes - and the wiring harnesses. You’ve got to be very careful when you’re working with electrical systems and tens of thousands of pounds of solid rocket fuel . . .

“NMD is a big deal for the union, for the company and for the nation.”
 
 
 

Todd Wall 
Mechanical Integration Technician IAM Chief Steward, LL 2766
Boeing Co., Huntsville, AL
”This is very interesting work, developing a weapon that could protect everyone in the country . . . I’ve been here for 17 years; I used to work on rocket motors with Thiokol. But this is a full-up integration of a missile system - hundreds and hundreds of elements, and every one has to work perfectly. It’s really complicated. You can’t just screw things together.

”There’s lots of good, skilled union workers here, putting in lots of long, hard hours - at least 60 hours a week, and it’s going to go like that for many months to come. We’re adding a third shift soon . . . The program is set to grow, and we’re only in the starting phase.”
 

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