Members of the Teamsters union have just accepted a new salary agreement with the helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky. The deal, approved with a majority of 2104 in favour and 140 against, will be valid until February 2018. It involves a 25% cut to the hourly salary of all new recruits, effective as of July 2017. This part of the deal is counterbalanced by the fact that the company will keep its headquarters in the state of Connecticut until 2032. The agreement was reached following negotiations between three parties: parent company Lockheed Martin, which recently acquired the helicopter builder and threatened to move production to the south of the country, the state of Connecticut and the trade unions.
“Acceptance will secure 30 years of future work during which Lockheed Martin will grow roots with Sikorsky and the Teamsters’ Union,” the local branch of the union said in a statement.
At the end of 2015, the American defence giant reached a deal to acquire Sikorsky, which has been a pillar of Connecticut’s local economy for more than 85 years.
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