BY FLOYD FOWLER
ATLANTA - More than 600 members of International Association
of Machinists Local 2726 have shut down Lucas Aerospace in Bibb
County, just south of Macon, Georgia. These workers, who produce
aircraft parts for virtually all planes built by Boeing, rejected
the company's contract offer by a 90 percent margin August 29.
Two days later, the last day before the old contract expired,
workers arrived at the plant to find they had been locked out.
The unionists then set up picket lines.
The workers main issues are job security and forced overtime. Unionists have averaged 60-70 hours a week for months, even as the company has farmed out work. Tony Roland, the striking local's president, said, "As older workers retire they are not being replaced. The maintenance department used to be over 60 workers, and is now down to 30."
Three hundred unionists and their families attended a Labor Day cook-out and rally held September 5 at the picket camp (above), directly across from the plant, complete with tents and a giant "on strike" sign. A local restaurant brought ice for the coolers. Support to Local Lodge 2726 has begun to come in from across central Georgia. Workers at the nearby Brown and Williamson tobacco plant, the Pratt and Whitney plant in Columbus, and the Miller Brewing plant in Albany have taken up collections.