Of the 7,000 people who work at the plant, 2,700 are members of International Association of Machinists (IAM) Local 709. The last time the union struck was 1977. Over the past decade Lockheed has laid off thousands of workers. In 1990 there were 14,000 members of Local 709 who worked at the plant.

Lockheed Martin, a major contractor for the Pentagon, builds F-22 Raptor fighter planes and C-130J Hercules transport planes at the sprawling facility adjacent to Dobbins Air Reserve Base. Last year Lockheed won the largest defense contract in history from the U.S. government to build the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for $200 billion.

After they turned down the first contract offer by an overwhelming 96 percent of workers voting, the company quickly returned with a new proposal, which was turned down by 78 percent of those casting a ballot.

In its first proposal Lockheed offered a 3 percent annual wage hike for each of the three years of the contract and a $500 signing bonus. The company bumped this up in its second proposal to a 4 percent raise in the first year and a $1,000 signing bonus. The bosses also said they would increase pension payments from $47 a month for every year of service to $56. The union's negotiating team unanimously recommended rejection of the offer and for a strike to be called. Similar contracts were accepted at two smaller Lockheed Martin plants in Palmdale and Sunnyvale, California.  
 
Growing use of outsourcing
For workers interviewed here, the main issues in the strike are outsourcing of jobs, the pension plan, and health insurance payments. Outside the union hall while the second vote was underway, Harold Jones said a "raise is no good if you're not there to get it." He said in his work area he has seen work that is normally done by union members at the plant crated up by the company to be sent elsewhere.

"The managers will tell you 'We'll let you do it this time,'" he said. By going on strike, "we want to make Lockheed bring the work back." Jones has worked for the company 22 years.

When asked if he thought the government would take action to avert a strike, Jones said that if "the government does anything it shouldn't let Lockheed do what it is doing. We're faced with terrorism every day with these people looking to take your job."

Roland Yap told the Militant that Lockheed Martin "made $8 billion in the last four years yet they want to increase our insurance premiums and take away holidays. We are the ones doing the job and making that money, not them."

Another worker said the company takes $14 out of a union member's weekly paycheck for health coverage for an individual. In the proposed contract Lockheed wants to increase the payment to $30 a week for an individual and $60 a week for two people. "The wage raise won't cover the increase in health insurance payments," he said. "If we accept this contract, in a week there'll be a lot less people working."

Rufus Cooper explained that there used to be 60 workers employed at his "cost center." Now there is one. He is signed up to cook for the pickets.

Another worker said he thought the lack of a cost-of-living increase in the pension plan was a major problem. "I know people who retired years ago when the pension was $15 to $18 a month per year of service and that's what they're still getting," he said. The average age of workers at the plant is 53.

Arlene Rubinstein, a meat packer and member of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, contributed to this article.  
 
 
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