UAW 952 members in Tulsa to vote on new Spirit AeroSystems contract

Spirit AeroSystems’ biggest union at its Tulsa operations will hold a special vote on a contract Sunday ahead of a potential sale of a portion of the Oklahoma facility.

The two groups have been in recent negotiations to change the union’s current contract agreement, which runs through 2020. Members of United Aerospace Workers Local 952 will vote on whether to accept Spirit’s offer of a contract.

Only union members assigned to the Gulfstream 280 and Gulfstream 650 business jet programs in Tulsa are eligible to vote on the offer, which relates to an asset purchase by Triumph Group, according to the UAW Local 952’s website.

More than 660 names are on a list of those eligible to vote, and the voting is to take place starting at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Members who work on other programs are not eligible. The vote also does not affect Spirit workers at a plant in McAlister, Okla.

UAW officials could not be reached for comment on Friday.

“The company is continuing the process related to the possible sale of its Tulsa operations,” Spirit spokesman Jarrod Bartlett said in an e-mailed statement. “This type of activity is a normal part of the process preparing for a possible sale. A final decision has not been made on the sale of the Tulsa facility.”

Spirit employs 2,700 in Oklahoma, including 2,300 in Tulsa. That includes hundreds of workers represented by the UAW.

The Tulsa plant builds the wings for the Gulfstream business jets.

It also produces wing components for Boeing 737, 747, 777 and 787 commercial airliners.

A sale would reduce Spirit’s exposure to the challenging Gulfstream G280 and G650 programs, which have incurred major forward-loss charges.

Some experts expect Spirit to sell the Gulfstream work to one buyer, Triumph, and the remaining work to another buyer.

Spirit has received a lot of interest in the Tulsa site, its CEO Larry Lawson has said. A sale is taking longer than expected, however.

This story was originally published September 26, 2014 at 11:33 AM with the headline "UAW 952 members in Tulsa to vote on new Spirit AeroSystems contract."