- As the strike at Jackson’s Eaton Aerospace enters week six, workers are preparing to vote on a new proposal from the Company.
- Workers say the new proposal is hardly different from the one they previously rejected.
- Pension changes, healthcare costs, and wages remain points of contention.
- Video shows striking workers, UAW Local 475 President Donnie Huffman.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
“The mood is — we want to go back to work.”
— Norman Crittenden, Striking Eaton Aerospace Worker
Eaton Aerospace workers are still camped out here in Wade Park six weeks after negotiations over a new contract with Eaton Aerospace broke down.
In my day-to-day in the neighborhood, I keep up with workers between stories on the strike.
Eaton worker Norman Crittenden says not much has changed in an offer they’re set to vote on this week: “It’s basically the same thing we turned down last time.”
Donnie Huffman is president of UAW Local 475, representing Eaton Aerospace workers. He says last Wednesday the two sides worked with a federal mediator who came here to help them get closer to an agreement.
Huffman says a new proposal will be put to a vote Thursday. But he says they’re not getting closer to what they’re looking for — like a softer blow to pension changes, smaller jumps in healthcare costs, and wages that better keep up with the cost of living.
He says, instead, there’s “no new money, no increases — just moving money around a little bit.”
Huffman says changes to the pension plan remain a key sticking point. The proposal calls for workers to keep pension benefits they’ve already earned, but switch to a 401k for future retirement savings. He thinks that would be hard for middle-aged workers who would have less time to build their 401k before retirement.
I reached out to Eaton Aerospace for an update but did not receive a response in time for our broadcast.
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