Labor & the Law
Pratt and Whitney workers in Connecticut spent the weekend celebrating as a judge ruled the company had to stop a plan to move 1,000 jobs out of the state. Without the injunction those jobs would have been sent to the state of Georgia and overseas to Japan and Singapore. According to U.S. District Judge Janet C Hall’s ruling, the company’s decision was a violation of the union contract which expires this year. Jim Parent is a spokesperson for the International Association of Machinists and he called the victory a win that goes beyond just the workers:
[Parent1]: "…for the state of Connecticut, for our state economy, and for the communities where our members live…"
However, the fight isn’t over. The union says as they enter contract negotiations it will do everything it can to preserve the jobs in Connecticut.
[Parent2]: "Our goal will be to preserve this work and these jobs beyond 2010 and the vehicle for us as a union will be collective bargaining."
Pratt and Whitney issued a statement this weekend that it was disappointed with the judge’s ruling and plans to appeal.