Machinists

By Kim Wilhelm (WICHITA, Kan.) Hawker Beechcraft machinists will decide Saturday whether to accept a new contract or go on strike.  Besides healthcare benefits and pension; pay remains a big issue.  Here's a look at what Wichita aviation companies pay machinists. Minimum Pay (per hour) Maximum Pay  (per hour)  Bombardier     $14.55 $24.24 Cessna $16.01  $25.75 Hawker Beechcraft $14.00   $23.48 Spirit Aerosystems $13.20 $24.90 The above information was gathered by Eyewitness News from various sources.

By Kim Wilhelm (WICHITA, Kan.) At 12:01 am Monday morning, machinists at Hawker Beechcraft already had a strike line up.  Over the weekend, the union overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer and voted to go on strike.  The old contract expired at midnight. Strikers gathered at plant entrances, holding signs and yelling.  They blocked the entrance for a brief amount of time before letting other employees drive into the company parking lot.  While many of the people who showed up for work Monday morning were management and non-union personnel, some strikers say they spotted their coworkers among the drivers coming to work.

by Chris Durden and The Associated Press (WICHITA, Kan.) Striking Boeing machinists accept the company's latest contract offer. That means the 57-day old strike is over. The contract passed by 74-percent. Some 27,000 workers in Kansas, Washington state and Oregon voted Saturday to accept the offer which includes a 15-percent raise over four years along with bonuses totaling at least $8,000 and higher pension payments. The contract also provides job security for 5,000 factory workers whose jobs could have been outsourced.

Members of Spirit AeroSystems' machinists union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 839) voted Friday to reject the company's 10-year contract offer. The offer was rejected by 57% of those voting. Afterwards, 58% voted to strike. However, since less than 2/3 (or 66%) voted to strike, the contract was automatically accepted. There will be no strike. Union President, Steve Rooney, says it's a tough situation when membership rejects a contract, yet it's still ratified.

by Cindy Klose and Angela Smith (WICHITA, Kan.) Machinists union leaders recommend Hawker Beechcraft workers reject their employer's contract offer and strike. The company's final offer came Wednesday afternoon. Bob Wood, a spokesperson for the Machinists union tells Eyewitness News, the company had fallen behind other aircraft companies in the area in its health care, pay wages and pensions. Negotiators hoped talks would change that. A reading of the proposed contract will be held this Saturday -- followed by a strike vote.

by Cliff Judy & Eyewitness News staff (WICHITA, Kan.) An accident early Monday morning near the Hawker Beechcraft plant has left a worker on strike dead. That man has been identified as 45-year-old Jeff Hart.  He is survived by two adult children. Hawker strikers are taking up donations for Hart's children, and the director of Watson Funeral Home says the facility is also accepting donations on their behalf.  Machinists will also ask for donations from Boeing machinists when they attend a meeting this afternoon.

The Machinists Union filed paper in bankruptcy court Monday, opposing "an attempt by Hawker Beechcraft, Inc., to expedite the sale of its assets. " Hawker announced last week it has a tentative deal with Superior Aviation of Beijing.  The deal calls for the Chinese company to buy Hawker for $1.79 billion. The International Association of Machinists says the sale has "broad implications. "  “The sale should not be rushed through without adequate scrutiny by all interested parties, including federal regulators, state officials and the Wichita community," says IAM President Tom Buffenbarger.  "As the necessary review process has not yet commenced, giving Superior the exclusive right to negotiate the purchase of Hawker at this time is premature.” In the court filing, the IAM says it's concerned that the sale could mean commercial and military-related technology could be transfered to China and that could lead to the loss of jobs.

The ballots are in and by a 70-30 majority, strikers will return to work.  But not everyone is happy about the deal. "Would you mind telling us how you voted?" asked Eyewitness News Reporter Sia Nyorkor. "I voted it down," says Vernon Jennings, a striker. "Me myself personally, with my honey going through cancer treatments, I would have to get a second job so I could not live with it," says Paul Love. But some say they can live with the new changes.  A federal mediator stepped in to negotiate a new contract after members of the Machinist union rejected Bombardier's first offer---mainly because of an increase in health care costs and a decrease in pay raises.  Under the new deal, the employee's share of their health insurance premium went from 30 percent to 15 percent with a wellness program.

It was a chance to voice what they want, but the Hawker machinists rallying Friday night still didn't know what the company is willing to offer. "It's scary, wondering what they're planning, because you know they've got something planned. We just don't know what it is," said Kurt Holtz. Hawker Beechcraft and the IAM started negotiations earlier this month. Union leaders say they expect to get the company's offer early next week. That will give the 2,800 men and women affected by the contract a matter of days to review it before voting next Saturday.

The ballots are in and by a 70-30 majority, strikers will return to work.  But not everyone is happy about the deal. "Would you mind telling us how you voted?" asked Eyewitness News Reporter Sia Nyorkor. "I voted it down," says Vernon Jennings, a striker. "Me myself personally, with my honey going through cancer treatments, I would have to get a second job so I could not live with it," says Paul Love. But some say they can live with the new changes.  A federal mediator stepped in to negotiate a new contract after members of the Machinist union rejected Bombardier's first offer---mainly because of an increase in health care costs and a decrease in pay raises.  Under the new deal, the employee's share of their health insurance premium went from 30 percent to 15 percent with a wellness program.

Saturday machinists will vote on whether to accept a new contract offer and go back to work at Bombardier.  Machinists have been on strike for a month. With the help of a federal mediator, the two sides reached an agreement.  The main issue in the first contract was health care costs. The union says under the latest contract offer, the employees share of their health insurance premium went from 30% to 15% with a wellness program. "The main improvements to the company proposal were related to health care," said Machinists Union Spokesman Bob Wood.

After more than three weeks on strike, Bombardier and the machinists union will start negotiating again. A federal mediator will be called in to help in those negotiations. Bombardier machinists have been on strike since voting against a contract offer around a month ago. "There are no winners when strikes go on, absolutely not, both parties are losers in it," says Art Veach, a retired federal mediator. He's worked in labor and management for almost three decades.  He says like other negotiations he's worked on, Bombardier and the Machinist Union will both have to come to the table and bargain.

The Bombardier machinists union strike has slowed traffic to a crawl in parts of west Wichita. Eyewitness News wanted to know if that has caused problems for other businesses in the area. Since the strike began, traffic has been backed up on Tyler from K-42 to Kellogg and Mid Continent Drive between Harry & Kellogg - especially during the morning commute. Traffic has snarled at times, leading police to warn drivers to stay off Tyler Rd. This has several businesses in the area concerned.

The strike at Bombardier is causing traffic headaches for drivers.  One woman spent four and a half hours in her car waiting to get into work at Bombardier. Click to See Photos from Picket Line She waited because the machinists on strike were stopping every car entering the facility. They would spend 30-40 seconds with each car causing traffic to back up for miles. After awhile, police asked they limit it to ten seconds to avoid major delays.  The union members agreed.

Machinists at Bombardier Learjet walked off the job and onto the picket line early Monday morning. This is the second strike in the Wichita plant's history. Click to See Photos from Picket Line Some say this strike might last longer than the three-week strike back in 2006. That strike was over wages and health insurance also, and the company's offer was more generous than this time around.  It was just before jet sales took a nosedive. "I don't think anybody believed the business jet market would be this bad this long," Friends University finance professor Malcolm Harris says.

Hawker Beechcraft's request to pay top executives more money is being disputed by the Machinists Union.  The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers filed a formal objection in federal bankruptcy court Wednesday. Last week, Hawker Beechcraft asked the federal bankruptcy court permission to pay its leadership team more money.  The team is made up of eight positions and according to court papers the execs could see bonuses up to 200% of their base salary.

The Machinists Union filed paper in bankruptcy court Monday, opposing "an attempt by Hawker Beechcraft, Inc., to expedite the sale of its assets. " Hawker announced last week it has a tentative deal with Superior Aviation of Beijing.  The deal calls for the Chinese company to buy Hawker for $1.79 billion. The International Association of Machinists says the sale has "broad implications. "  “The sale should not be rushed through without adequate scrutiny by all interested parties, including federal regulators, state officials and the Wichita community," says IAM President Tom Buffenbarger.  "As the necessary review process has not yet commenced, giving Superior the exclusive right to negotiate the purchase of Hawker at this time is premature.” In the court filing, the IAM says it's concerned that the sale could mean commercial and military-related technology could be transfered to China and that could lead to the loss of jobs.

The Machinists union has started talks with Boeing about the future of Wichita's hourly workers as Boeing closes its facilities. The Discussions includes dates of closure, relocation of packages, medical coverage and pension. Union officials say they would like to see their represented employees moved to another Boeing site, that is, if they are willing to move.  The work that had been done in Wichita will be moved to Oklahoma City and San Antonio. A tanker refinishing plant that was slated for the Air-Capital will be built in the Puget Sound area of Washington.  The union represents just over 15-percent of Boeing Wichita's 2,100 employees.