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Machinist union members voted to accept Textron Aviation’s proposal of a five-year labor agreement.
Machinist union members at Textron Aviation in Wichita voted to ratify the company’s newest offer of a five-year labor contract, agreeing to end a more than month-long strike.
Employees are due to resume work as early as Oct. 23.
The new offer includes a 31% pay increase over the five-year contract period, compared to 26% over four years in an earlier Textron offer that workers rejected. The agreement that employees ratified on Oct. 20 includes a $3,000 lump sum payment in each year of the contract, longevity pay and caps to increases in health insurance costs.
"Our skilled members in Wichita know what it takes to make Textron Aviation products, just like they know how to stick together for what's right," says IAM International President Brian Bryant.
About 5,000 Textron Aviation hourly workers are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Those employees walked off the job Sept. 23 after overwhelmingly rejecting the company’s previous offer.
Striking workers may return to work Oct. 23 and use earned time off or vacation for Oct. 21-22. They must return to work no later than Oct. 28, the company says.
"We are pleased to have ratified a contract with the IAM that offers our employees, their families and the Wichita community a shared future,” says Ron Draper, president and CEO of Textron Aviation. “We value our workforce and the work they do, and this agreement reflects our commitment to our team. The ratification of this contract marks a new chapter, and we are eager to move forward together.”
Danielle Lewis, who joined the company in February in chemical processing, says she voted to reject the original offer and voted to strike. This time, she voted in favor of ratification, Lewis said during the voting, which took place at the IAM District 70 headquarters in south Wichita.
“I think it’s a good contract,” she says. After being out of work for a month, she says: “I’m ready to go back to work. People are ready to go back to work. The holidays are coming.”
Miguel Angel Santos, a flight mechanic and 29-year employee, voted against the original proposal as well as the latest offer. “It’s a slap in the face to all the employees and future employees,” Santos said after casting his ballot. “They’re trying to beautify the deal, but it’s taking more away than it’s giving.”
Pay, he says, is his main concern. Some of the company’s aircraft and powerplant mechanics leave soon after training and earning their license to take better-paying jobs elsewhere, Santos says. “If they want to keep people, pay them good and they won’t leave.”
The approved contract runs a year longer than the original proposed terms. The duration marked the main difference from the original, rejected offer.
With the contract, the union accepted an 11% base-pay bump-up at the start of the new contract, with a 4% wage increase in 2025, 5% in 2026, 6% in 2027 and 5% in 2028. It secured a guaranteed $3,000 lump sum payment each year of the contract and a cost-of-living adjustment of a maximum of $1,500 per year, up from a maximum of $700 in the prior contract.
Textron also agreed to provide new longevity pay to recognize long-term employees and increased to 9% what the company would match in employee 401K savings plan contributions. It also agreed to cap increases to annual health insurance premiums and no premium increases from 2025-29 to the company’s no-deductible health plan, with additional free services at one of the Plane Healthy Wellness Center and Pharmacy locations, effective Jan. 1, 2025. Textron Aviation also agreed to maintain major manufacturing operations in Wichita during the length of the contract.
Under the terms of the contract, an entry-level—or Grade C—employee, will earn $47,500 with the 11% increase, with pay increasing to $70,900 by the end of the five-year period. A Grade B employee, meanwhile, would earn $69,264 with the 11% increase and make $93,787 at the end of the five years.
The ratification came a day after Boeing and the union representing around 33,000 striking machinists in the Puget Sound area agreed on new contract terms. Union members, who rejected an earlier contract before walking out last month, are due to vote Oct. 23.
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