Connecticut Workers Protest Tanker Contract

April 2, 2008 - At a rally in East Hartford, CT, this week, union members, business leaders, elected officials and workers from across Connecticut voiced their collective outrage over the awarding of a $40 billion Air Force tanker contract to Airbus and Northrop Grumman.

“If we don’t maintain our industrial base and skilled workforce, our national security is in jeopardy,” said District 26 Directing Business Representative Everett Corey. “We need to start with this contract – keep the jobs here in the U.S., where the people are paying the taxes that fund this program.”

Connecticut stands to lose more than 4,000 jobs at Pratt & Whitney in addition to numerous jobs at smaller vendors and suppliers. At a time when our nation faces a looming recession and record trade deficits, it is unconscionable to award a multi-billion contract to another nation rather than utilize our own skilled workers.

DBR Everett Corey