5/9/2013 2:23:00 PM
About 2,300 Oregon employees of Precision Castparts Corp. will vote in June whether to unionize.
The Oregonian reported managers of the publicly held corporation are opposing unionzation.
Managers of the corporate giant, which makes airplane and gas turbine parts, have fought off
Employees complain about who mandatory weekend overtime shifts on short notice.
A company spokesman declined to comment on personnel matters.
Workers will vote June 6-7, 2013, whether to join the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers.
“We want to have a voice, and we want to be respected as the professional workforce that we are,” employee Rod Scott told the Oregonian, who x-rays aircraft parts to check for defects. He said managers penalize workers for taking sick days, change policies without notice, withdraw benefits and set impossible production targets.
Precision Castparts employs more than 27,000 worldwide. The company declined to tell the Oregonian how many worldwide workers are union members.
In 1996, Portland workers voted against representation by the United Steelworkers of America.
A memo attributed to Kevin Stein, Precision Castparts executive vice president for fasteners division president and PCC Structurals Inc. president, wrote that a union would reduce flexibility and slow response to customers.
“The stability and growth we’ve enjoyed as a union-free work environment sets us apart from other manufacturers,” the April 16 memo said. “This success makes us a lucrative target to a declining organization, which is mainly interested in its own financial benefit.”
According to the GlobalFastenerNews.com report on Precision Castparts sales at its Airframe Products segment — primarily fasteners — grew 35.8% to $556.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2013, driven by a 51% increase in aerospace sales that represented a “steady recovery in core fasteners.”
“The segment’s organic aerospace sales increased by 15%, driven by steadily increasing commercial backlogs and further closing of the gap between 787 fastener orders and the current Boeing production rate,” PCC stated.
Segment operating income gained 43.5% to $166.6 million during the period.
Overall PCC sales rose 8.4% to $1.93 billion, while operating income increased 13.5% to $498.4 million and net income from continuing operations improved 12.5% to $333.3 million.
“All of our businesses are well-positioned for the future; the long-range growth prospects for the top- and bottom-line are solid,” stated CEO Mark Donegan.
“Wyman-Gordon and SPS Technologies demonstrated our ability to establish a beachhead in an industry and progress aggressively forward, and we are confident that these aerostructures businesses will give us the same traction,” Donegan added.
Growing sales put pressure on Portland line workers, according to Frank Larkin, a spokesman for the machinists union.
Managers post lists of employees who must work weekend overtime, he said, “and that can go week after week after week. It’s often a way to avoid hiring the staffing that you actually need,” Larkin told the Oregonian.
Workers who call in an absence get an “occurrence” in employee record, Scott said. “You’re only allowed 10 of those a year,” he said, “and then you’re subject to termination.”
Another issue are changing company policies without notice such as recent dropping of vacation hours accrual for overtime work.
Larkin said the issues are working conditions, policies, wages and benefits.
Precision’s approximate range of between $9.25 and $33 an hour is below wages in the aerospace industry, he said. ©2013 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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