Union Employees of Key U.S Defense Contractor (ITT Night Vision) Vote to Strike Today

'Right now, the company is working some of the people six and seven days a week'

A mandatory overtime policy sent union officials and ITT Night Vision management to the negotiating table last month.

During the famous "Bread and Roses" strike in 1912, textile workers in Lawrence, Mass., fought both for increased pay and a chance to enjoy the finer things of life. More than 90 years later, union members at ITT Night Vision in Roanoke County are prepared to walk off the job this weekend. And one big bone of contention for the union addresses a required overtime practice it says keeps workers from the people that matter most - their families.

"Right now, the company is working some of the people six and seven days a week, on mandatory overtime," said Jeff Moran, chief steward and arbitration coordinator for Local 162 of the International Union of Electronic/Communications Workers of America.

"It leaves no time with your family," he said. "You can't even watch your child's T-ball game."

The four-year contract for IUE-CWA Local 162 expires at midnight Friday. Negotiations between union officials and management began early last month, Moran said. Local 162 has about 580 members at ITT Night Vision. Moran and Mitchell "Red" Adams, administrative steward, said more than 90 percent of the members who voted recently approved a strike if management won't budge on the overtime policy and other issues on the bargaining table, including health insurance coverage and pension worries.

Work conditions, benefits and pay at ITT Night Vision are a far cry from what textile workers endured in the early 20th century. Moran and Adams readily admit that, when compared to many other local workers in the manufacturing sector, hourly employees at ITT are well paid, averaging about $14 or $15 an hour, they said.

But they said their pay has been hard won through negotiation. And they argue ITT is prospering because global forces, including terrorism and war, have created huge demand for ITT Night Vision's celebrated goggles and related gear that help soldiers, border patrol officers and police officers see in the dark. Union members simply want to share in that prosperity, said Moran, and not face management demands for concessions that include surrendering two personal days and health care coverage changes that will cost workers more.

"You would expect these kinds of negotiating tactics when the company isn't doing well but not when it seems to be prospering," Moran said.

Laurel Holder, a spokeswoman for ITT Night Vision, said the company "cannot begin to address the union's issues, point by point, in the media while negotiations are ongoing." Holder released instead a brief company statement that included the following: "We trust that the company and the union will successfully resolve the issues being negotiated, thereby reaching a mutually acceptable agreement by the time the labor contract expires June 21."

On Wednesday evening, Moran was less optimistic. He said negotiations during the day broke down after about an hour.

Moran said the union's contract with ITT Night Vision includes a provision for overtime that IUE-CWA could support. That schedule calls for four 12-hour shifts and allows employees to take regular days off.

"We're not looking to shut the company down, but what we do need is time with our family," Moran said.

He said union members have worked long hours without complaining because of their commitment to providing a steady supply of night - vision devices to troops overseas.

"We are obligated morally and ethically to make sure our troops are supplied with our goggles," he said. "At the same time, there is life outside of ITT."

Sunday, June 22, 2003

About 580 workers affected at the Roanoke County manufacturer of night-vision goggles

ITT Night Vision union on strike

The company says it will "proceed with business and cover production" the best it can.

By DUNCAN ADAMS
THE ROANOKE TIMES

Union members at ITT Night Vision voted by a large margin Saturday to reject a new labor contract offer from management, and strikers soon lined Plantation Road in Roanoke County.

Several participants said it was the first strike since 1985 at the ITT plant, which manufactures night-vision goggles and related gear.

About 580 union workers will be affected by the strike.

Greg Austin, a steward for Local 162 of the International Union of Electronic/Communications Workers of America, was one of many on the picket line Saturday evening. He and Wayne Kelley both serve on Local 162's executive board.

"We asked for a fair and reasonable contract, and we did not get it," Kelley said.

Local 162's previous contract with ITT Night Vision expired at midnight Friday.

Austin said union members could not accept company provisions related to health insurance coverage, saying that management refused to cap potential premium increases for workers for the life of the proposed four-year contract.

"They want no caps," he said. "They want that wide open and want us to cover the cost of any increases."

In addition, Austin said, hourly workers think their current pension plan is inadequate and inequitable, especially when compared to that of salaried employees.

And although some progress was made during negotiations about mandatory overtime, Austin said, concerns remain about employees being forced to choose work over family.

ITT Night Vision has been working employees six or seven days a week, he said, because of the deluge of orders for night-vision devices since Sept. 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq.

"These people in here have give their heart and soul during the war," Austin said, to meet contract orders. "These people have sacrificed their family life. These people are tired."

Laurel Holder, a spokeswoman for ITT Night Vision, said the company had hoped negotiations would succeed.

"We're very disappointed," Holder said. "We felt like we had a good offer and were disappointed it wasn't accepted."

Holder said ITT Night Vision is "going to proceed with business and cover production the best we can."

A press statement released Saturday evening said the company "will continue to negotiate in good faith with the union, working toward a timely resolution of labor issues."

Kelley said he does not believe company engineers and supervisors will be able to cover production demands.

"We've got shipments going out 24/7," he said.

Austin agreed.

"This company can't afford for us to be out on strike with the business they have," he said.

Both men said strikers will be able to draw money from strike funds maintained both by Local 162 and the national IUE-CWA.

Joey Trovata said he's worked at ITT for 20 years and remembers the strike of 1985, which he said lasted about two weeks. Trovata said he's convinced ITT Night Vision is prospering and believes some of the company's earnings should trickle down to workers on the line.

"We just want them to share the wealth," he said.

Union officials have said the average hourly wage at ITT Night Vision is $14 to $15, which they admit is a higher wage than many Western Virginia manufacturing workers earn. But they have also said many tasks at ITT Night Vision require experienced and skilled workers and that wages received have followed hard-won negotiations.

"This union does care about this community, and we're not greedy," Kelley said.

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