Updated: Striking Textron employee arrested by Wichita police. Here’s possible charge

Wichita police arrested a picketing Textron Aviation worker on loitering charges while she was on strike with coworkers, according to police, jail records and the union representing the aviation workers.

The 64-year-old woman was arrested at Textron’s site in east Wichita after “she was warned by officers on two separate occasions not to block or impede the roadway and to take very small steps while crossing,” Wichita police spokesperson Andrew Ford said in an email.

Ford later clarified that the officers did not tell the woman to take very small steps. “She took small steps while impeding traffic flow and was warned twice not to impede traffic flow and not to take very small steps before being arrested.”

“This violation is a misdemeanor and arrestable offense.”

Officers were working a special assignment in the area in reference to the Textron strike, Ford said.

Police typically hand out a written citation for municipal infractions. In this case, they arrested the Textron employee and booked her into Sedgwick County jail.

The Wichita Police Department did not respond Thursday morning to questions asking which roadway she was allegedly blocking or impeding. A judge-signed injunction entered between Textron and the union workers on Sept. 23 requires all “officers, agents, or employees” to come to a complete stop at the entrance if a picket line is present.

“If the occupants of the vehicle indicate verbally or otherwise a desire to enter Plaintiff’s (Textron’s) premises, then the picket captain shall immediately instruct the pickets to clear the path of the vehicle and allow the vehicle to proceed,” the injunction says.

The offense listed on the police report was “miscellaneous offenses/other.” The incident at 300 N. Webb Road was reported at 7 a.m. Wednesday.

The employee was later booked into Sedgwick County jail on suspicion of violating the city’s loitering ordinance, a municipal infraction. She had to take a mugshot, was processed into the jail and was later released on Wednesday. No charges had been filed in municipal court as of Thursday afternoon.

IAM District 70 president Lisa Whitley said she didn’t believe the woman should be arrested. She did not see the arrest but was told by other workers about it.

“They must of arrested her for something. ... We want to follow the rules,” she said.

Textron, which makes Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker planes and jets, is one of the largest employers in Wichita.

Workers are now on their 10th day of striking. The union represents roughly 5,000 workers.

Other large strikes are going on nationwide.

Boeing, another aviation company, has roughly 33,000 workers on strike; roughly 47,000 workers at International Longshoremen’s Association, who handle cargo at dozens of ports around the country, are also on strike, according to media reports.

This story was originally published October 2, 2024 at 4:02 PM.