After 43 days of solidarity and trepidation, the 70 strikers of the Machinists Local 1562 at Howmet Aerospace in Kingston were able to put down their picket signs this week. New contract terms offered by their employer, Howmet Aerospace, had been negotiated and accepted.
“We voted yesterday morning,” said union business representative Kevin Weidman. “The contract was ratified a little past 10 a.m. After that meeting, we went down the hill, we stopped the picketing at that point and took the rat down.”
A fixture of union picket lines for decades, the inflatable union rat draws focus upon companies who make use of non-union labor during a strike.
Now that’s all behind them. After conversations with the company, Weidman said the expectation is now that it’s just back to business as usual. “We had that stoppage, we had some disagreements, but now we’re back to doing what we do best,” he said
What the workers do best at the Kingston facility is machining and manufacturing fastening systems for aerospace, transportation and military industries.
In a statement released by the company, Howmet struck a conciliatory note. “We are pleased to reach an agreement that is beneficial to our union employees and their families, our Kingston operations, and our customers.”
Previous to the negotiations, the workers for Howmet brought home an average of $49,305 a year, excluding overtime and taxes.
Starting in the new year, the workers expect to receive a 13.5 percent wage increase spread out over the three-year duration of the contract, an extra sick day annually, extra money added to their pension, and a five percent cap on medical costs. Changes to overtime calculations initially proposed for the new contract have also been withdrawn.
After talks to reach terms fell through on November 15, the standoff persisted into December with no new offer from the company.
Weidman noted that the local negotiating team brought in a representative from the corporate office. “But it was mainly run by the local [office],” he said. “We sat down and spoke, and we were able to have some hard, honest conversations, and get to the point where we felt it was mutually beneficial to both sides.”
Coming just two weeks before Christmas, the announcement was a relief to the workers. When they went back up the hill on Corporate Drive on Thursday morning at 7 a.m., a majority felt vindicated.
“It was a long, hard-fought battle,” said Weidman. “The locals stuck together. And we were able to come out with what we thought was a fair agreement.”
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