Pratt, striking CT union to resume contract talks
The union representing about 3,000 striking workers at Pratt & Whitney plants in the Hartford area will return to the bargaining table Thursday with the jet-engine maker, as the strike enters its third week.
The union members began picketing in East Hartford and Middletown on May 5, a day after overwhelmingly rejecting Pratt's final contract offer and setting up a historic bargaining showdown not seen at the company in decades.
The contract dispute, which involves hourly workers and members of IAM Local 700 and Local 1746, is highlighted by concerns focused on job security, wages and retirement benefits, according to a union statement Monday.
The IAM negotiating committee and the company are scheduled to meet Thursday at 10 a.m.
As the strike enters its third week, Wayne McCarthy, president of IAM Union Local 700, has said workers will not back down until they receive job security and a fair contract.
A spokesman for Virginia-based RTX Corp., Pratt's parent company, issued this statement: 'We have agreed to resume negotiations on Thursday, May 22.
'We are committed to continue working towards a new agreement that rewards our employees' contributions and continues to secure these high-paying, high-skilled manufacturing jobs here in Connecticut,' the statement said.
Workers were set to lose their health care coverage on Monday, a blow that McCarthy acknowledged would be hard on families. But McCarthy noted that Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and State Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, reached out to him on Saturday and announced that workers will be eligible to apply for health care coverage under Access Health CT, the state's health insurance marketplace.
Union members say the biggest issues separating them are employment security, marked by worries about jobs migrating to areas of the country where it is cheaper to do business; pension and retirement benefits; and concerns about wages keeping up with inflation.
Pratt said it is committed to keeping manufacturing in Connecticut.
Some picketing workers said the erosion in health benefits, marked by higher premiums and deductibles, essentially erased the pay increases offered by the company. According to Pratt, the proposed pay increase was a general wage increase of 4% immediately, 3.5% in 2026 and 3% in 2027.
Despite some hardships caused by the lack of pay and benefits, union organizers said workers 'remain united as ever' and determined to secure long lasting job security and a fair contract for workers.
Reporting by Courant Staff Writer Stephen Underwood is included.
Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.
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