WASHINGTON - Federal mediators have scheduled meetings this week between Lockheed Martin and its workers after union members overwhelmingly rejected proposed contracts with the defense contractor and voted to strike.
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service set meetings Wednesday in Atlanta, as well as Glendale and Oakland, Calif., to discuss the proposals rejected Sunday by workers at each of the plants in those areas.
Workers at the plants were voting on three proposed, separate pacts. Lockheed has large assembly plants in Marietta, Ga., and Palmdale and Sunnyvale, Calif.
``We are open to participation in this process and to continuing our bargaining effort in good faith to reach a fair and equitable agreement with our bargaining units,'' Lockheed spokesman James Fetig said Monday.
Lockheed Martin's union members could walk off the job as early as March 11 after the union formally notifies the company of the rejections. Officials at Lockheed Martin, based in Bethesda, Md., were disappointed by the votes, even though they were expected, Fetig said.
In Marietta, members of Local 709 of the International Association of Machinists could walk the picket lines for the first time since 1977. The Marietta plant produces F-22 Raptor fighters and C-130J transport planes. It is Cobb County's largest private employer.
Union members, who make up nearly a third of the 7,000 Lockheed Martin workers in Marietta, voted against the contract proposal by 96 percent; 94 percent voted in favor of a strike.
Lockheed has offered a 3 percent annual wage increase and a $500 bonus to each worker if the contract is ratified. IAM members now earn $8 to $24 an hour, according to the union.
The union and the company have a history of down-to-the-wire negotiations. Contract talks began Jan. 3 and have intensified since Feb. 15. Lockheed Martin is the nation's largest defense contractor.
Shares of Lockheed Martin were down 7 cents to close at $57 in trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Saturday
March 8th, 2025
9:19PM
