International Association of Machinists (IAM) Local 709 struck Lockheed Martin in Marietta, Georgia, at midnight on March 8. The union represents 2,800 workers at the plant. Union members rejected a contract that offered a 10 percent wage increase over three years and a $1,500 signing bonus, but would also raise health-care and retirement insurance costs. Spirits were high at the union hall as workers prepared for the evening shift change for picket duty. IAM Local 709 president Cornell “Slim” Stevens is at far right in photo.