Union at Spirit AeroSystems’ Tulsa facility rejects contract offer
Spirit AeroSystems union members in Tulsa overwhelmingly rejected a new contract offer Sunday regarding a sale of the company’s Gulfstream work.
Only members of the United Aerospace Workers Local 952 assigned to the Gulfstream 280 and Gulfstream 650 business jet programs were eligible to vote on at a special meeting.
The vote related to an asset purchase by Triumph Group, the UAW said.
Spirit has been trying to sell its Tulsa site for more than a year. Besides building wing components for Gulfstream, the site also makes wing components for Boeing 737, 747, 777 and 787 commercial airliners.
In the vote, 367 voted against the offer, 59 voted in favor and one ballot was blank, according to the UAW’s website.
The outcome won’t change Spirit’s actions, Spirit CEO Larry Lawson said Monday after a Rotary Club of Wichita meeting.
“We’ll move forward,” Lawson said.
The company will continue the process related to the possible sale of its Tulsa operations, Spirit spokesman Jarrod Bartlett said in an e-mailed statement. “The UAW, by a vote of its members, has elected to move forward with the transition under the current provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.”
Work that Spirit performs in Wichita on the Gulfstream 650 for Rolls Royce is not considered part of its Oklahoma operations and won’t included in any potential sale, Spirit spokesman Ken Evans said in an e-mail.
Spirit employs 2,500 in Tulsa. Many are represented by the UAW.
Sunday’s meeting turned heated and at one time police were called, according to News On 6, a Tulsa TV station. No arrests were made, according to the station.
A sale would reduce Spirit’s exposure to the challenging Gulfstream G280 and G650 programs, which have incurred major forward-loss charges.
Spirit has received a lot of interest in the Tulsa site, Lawson has said. A sale is taking longer than expected, however.
Reach Molly McMillin at 316-269-6708 or mmcmillin@wichitaeagle.com. Follow her on Twitter: @mmcmillin.
This story was originally published September 29, 2014 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Union at Spirit AeroSystems’ Tulsa facility rejects contract offer."