After a long three days working with the Federal Mediator, and a lot of tough negotiating, last night after midnight, we came to a tentative agreement with Hawker Beechcraft, pending your ratification.
After 21 days of striking, we have gained important and substantial improvements over the company’s Last, Best and Final Offer we rejected. Your Negotiating Committee is recommending the contract.
Although you never get everything you want, you should be very proud of the improvements you have won.
- The largest improvement is that the employee share of health care premiums, including vision and dental, has been frozen at current costs for the life of the three-year agreement.
- Our pension was increased to seven dollars, front-loaded and available January 1, 2009.
- No-takeaway ETO for new hires. New-hire ETO will be the same as current employees. And all ETO can be used in one hour increments.
- Overtime – For those on the 3/12 and 4/10 workweeks, the seventh day overtime is voluntary.
- Material Handlers / Expediters will not be downgraded.
- Health insurance will be restored on Friday 8/29/08 if the contract is ratified.
We will be giving a complete contract proposal as soon as they are printed. With the frozen health care costs, your four percent raises are true raises.
Tentatively, we will be voting the contract on Thursday, in order to allow those who have left town to return and vote. If the contract is ratified, we will return to work next Tuesday, and if you return next week, you will be paid for the Labor Day Holiday. Also, you will receive your last strike check next week, for a total of two checks.
Probationary employees who honored the picket lines will be reinstated, and suffer no retaliation. All probationary employees will have their probation extended the amount of days we were on strike.
As we said, we walked out together, and we all return together, with our heads held high. Our solidarity made all the difference in the world, for a successful strike.
In Solidarity,
Your Negotiating Committee
