Nationwide strike of launch provider ULA could end this weekend

A nationwide strike of aerospace company United Launch Alliance could end this weekend when union members return to vote on a revised contract, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said Thursday.

About 600 members of the union, which are responsible for hardware-related work such as rocket assembly and launch operations, turned down a three-year contract offer on May 7 and began picketing at ULA's centers of operation in Florida, Alabama and California. The union has recommended that members approve the new contract during a vote this Saturday.

Chief among members' complaints were flexibility restrictions placed on work-related travel as teams often have to move between sites – Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and Decatur, Alabama – to support rocket launch operations.

"A big part of it is how they have people travel from different locations to launch," Jody Bennett, chief of staff and aerospace negotiator for the union, told FLORIDA TODAY after the first vote. "It doesn't give them a lot of family time. They can force you to pack up, leave and go someplace for 30 days."

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Other factors, such as health care and pay, were still concerns to the union, but did not factor into the strike decision as much as travel did.

Since the first vote, meetings with ULA produced a new contract that includes: 

• A four-year agreement, compared to the old contract's three-year term.
• Guaranteed two-week periods between work-related trips and overall travel modifications.
• More say in the transition to a different pension plan and the presence of financial advisors to help employees.
• Health insurance-related changes to caps and per-paycheck premiums.
• Slight changes to a guarantee that employees will not be displaced due to subcontracting.
• And, compared to the first offer, higher raises over the course of four years: 1.75 percent; 2 percent; 2.5 percent; and 3 percent.

In a statement to FLORIDA TODAY, ULA said the company is pleased with the tentative contract and urged union employees to vote in favor.

"We are pleased that the collective team reached a tentative agreement and the union leadership expressed they will be recommending the contract to their members," ULA said. "We have always been at our best while working together. The proposed collective bargaining agreement is a fair contract that will enable us to continue our mission to provide unrivaled reliability and assured access to space."

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That offer included: A $6,000 bonus per employee if the first contract had been approved; wage increases of 1.5 percent, 1.75 percent and 2 percent for three years; maintenance of existing medical plans; a guarantee that ULA would not displace employees to subcontracting; and an increase in the annual cost of living adjustment, to name a few.

If the new contract is approved, employees will return to work Monday. Membership includes 300 employees in Decatur, 220 to 230 in Cape Canaveral and 70 to 80 at Vandenberg. Overall, ULA has about 2,500 employees.

The company, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, builds and launches rockets from its Atlas V, Delta IV, and Delta IV Heavy families. Its next launch, a Delta IV Heavy with NASA's Parker Solar Probe mission, is targeted for no earlier than July 31.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook at @EmreKelly.