http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2006/02/02/news/news06.txt
Boeing workers end strike, accept contract
By Janene Scully/Associate Editor
Three months after walking off the job and onto picket lines, Boeing
workers - including about 100 at Vandenberg Air Force Base - voted to
accept a new labor pact Wednesday.
“We have a contract,” said Larry Olinger, president of the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 2024 in Huntington
Beach. “They voted to accept it.”
The new three-year labor agreement covers nearly 1,000 employees at
Vandenberg, Huntington Beach and other California sites plus Cape
Canaveral, Fla., and Alabama. The contract received support from 71
percent of the voters.
“We are pleased the agreement was ratified and look forward to our
employees returning to work," said Rick Navarro, Boeing's director of
Delta launch operations.
Employees walked off the job Nov. 2 after they rejected the contract
offer. The said key issues included medical costs for both current
employees and future workers who retire.
The adopted agreement includes caps for medical coverage, and both sides
agreed to discuss retiree medical plans, the union said.
The contract offer includes two general salary increases and $3,000 in
lump-sum payments, Boeing said. It also includes a pension increase for
employees who retire on or after March 1 this year.
“We didn't get exactly what we wanted but we got a couple of things we
did want,” said James White, local steward of Vandenberg's workers.
“There is some relief. We're not happy with what we got but there's
relief in it being over.”
At Vandenberg, the Machinists could be seen picketing for the last few
months at the main gate and South Base entrance.
The strike is blamed for helping to keep Delta rockets in Florida and
California on the ground, but Boeing also wrestled with battery problems
and other glitches.
Officials have said Delta launches wouldn't resume for at least 30 days
after the strike ended.
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