Textron and Machinists will start talking again Wednesday
Textron Aviation and its biggest union, the Machinists, are heading back to the negotiating table Wednesday morning after talks fell apart on Sunday.
The company and the union have jointly put out a statement about the return to the table.
“We took pause over the weekend, but have agreed to reconvene the negotiating process,” the memo said. “We will keep you informed over the coming days on any next steps.”
It was signed by Jim Walters, Textron Aviation senior vice president of human resources, and Frank Molina, president and directing business representative of the Machinists District 70.
“We’re happy to see the company willing to sit down with us and hopefully to finish these negotiations,” Molina said.
A Textron Aviation spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.
If negotiators ultimately agree on a proposal, union members could vote Friday at Hartman Arena.
The two sides have been working to combine the two separate local unions of Beechcraft Corp. and Cessna Aircraft under a single labor agreement.
Textron, Cessna’s parent company, bought Beechcraft in March and formed Textron Aviation.
The Machinists represent 2,494 hourly workers at Cessna under Local Lodge 774 and 1,627 hourly workers at Beechcraft under Local Lodge 733.
Beechcraft’s current five-year labor agreement expires in 2016; Cessna’s seven-year agreement expires in 2017. And those contracts’ provisions differ widely.
On Sunday, a potential deal fell apart after the company walked out of talks without presenting a final offer as expected, the union said.
A vote that would have taken place on Wednesday was called off.
The deal breaker was the union’s desire for the company to put in writing that it would keep jobs in Wichita and a commitment that planes would be built here, a Machinists official said.
Textron Aviation refused, Molina said at the time.
Instead, according to union officials, a company official told the union that it would actively work to outsource work to other states.
Reach Molly McMillin at 316-269-6708 or mmcmillin@wichitaeagle.com. Follow her on Twitter: @mmcmillin.
This story was originally published October 14, 2014 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Textron and Machinists will start talking again Wednesday."