Machinists say they will fight possible Pratt & Whitney appeal on federal judge’s jobs ruling

Union vows to press ahead to preserve Conn. jobs

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — The Machinists union vowed Saturday to continue fighting to preserve jobs at Pratt & Whitney as the jet engine maker considers appealing a court ruling that halted its plans to move 1,000 jobs out of Connecticut.

Union officials spoke at a news conference that quickly became a victory rally celebrating the federal court order issued late Friday. They said they are confident they will win an appeal.

Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., said Friday it had not decided whether to appeal the ruling that prohibits it from shutting its engine overhaul and repair plant in Cheshire by early 2011 and shifting repair operations from its East Hartford facility beginning in the second quarter of this year.

The company, citing a steep downturn in the aerospace industry, announced in September its plans to move jobs to Columbus, Ga., Singapore and Japan. Operating profit at Pratt & Whitney fell nearly 14 percent last year, to $1.84 billion from $2.12 billion in 2008.

The federal court order was a significant win for the union, which is struggling to overcome global trade pressures, beat back arguments that union wages in Connecticut are too high relative to Asia and the South and get through a steep downturn in the aerospace industry.

“It’s a big victory for the state of Connecticut, our state economy and our communities where workers spend their money,” said James Parent, the union local’s chief negotiator.

Union leaders, surrounded by several Democratic elected officials, said they expect another battle over jobs in December when the Machinists’ contract with the company expires. The union may then negotiate the issue or call a strike.

“It’s up to us to preserve those jobs beyond the Dec. 5, 2010, collective bargaining agreement and we’re up to the fight,” Parent said.

Greg Brostowicz, a spokesman for Pratt & Whitney, said the court’s decision ignores business conditions.

“Unfortunately, this ruling does not change the fact there’s a significant volume drop of approximately 40 percent at these two units for work that will not return even when the market recovers,” he said.

U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in Bridgeport said Pratt & Whitney failed to comply with its contract with the union requiring it to make every reasonable effort to keep the jobs in Connecticut.

She rapped the company for what she saw as a “very strong effort by Pratt to make the appearance of making ‘every reasonable effort.’”

Throughout the court hearings in December and January, company executives testified that the company lost work due to the recession and the downturn in the aviation industry. President David Hess said that when he took the helm in January 2009, Pratt & Whitney was facing its “biggest financial challenge since World War II.”

Pratt & Whitney has scaled back operations in Connecticut since the 1960s when more than 20,000 workers were employed. The company now employs 11,000 in Connecticut, fewer than one-third of its global work force.

It’s the second victory by the union against Pratt & Whitney in a decade. In 2000, the union won a similar legal challenge to proposed cuts of about 500 jobs.