Hawker, Machinists have 'parallel goals'

July 8, 2011

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July 07--Hawker Beechcraft and the Machinists must forge a labor agreement that deals with the realities of a prolonged industry downturn yet plans for an eventual upturn, officials from both groups said today.

"We have to fashion an agreement that works in both of those circumstances," said Hawker Beechcraft CEO Bill Boisture.

Boisture and Machinists union international president Tom Buffenbarger kicked off the negotiations at the National Center for Aviation Training. They were joined by company and union officials

The current contract expires Aug. 7. The union represents about 2,800 hourly workers at Hawker Beechcraft.

Both say they are approaching talks with an open mind.

"I'm very confident these discussions will have a positive outcome for our customers and the people of Hawker Beechcraft," Boisture said.

The company seeks a contract that meets the realities of foreign competition, the projection of a weak market for a time, protects the Hawker and Beechcraft brands, promotes quality and sets up for efficiency and for high quality jobs when demand improves, Boisture said.

The union and the company have parallel goals, Buffenbarger said.

"We are very willing to explore new ideas," he said. "We know our world has changed."

The union is seeking a contract that prepares for the future, Buffenbarger said.

"We help make this industry the envy of the world," he said.

Job security is a key goal. The company is in the midst of closing plants and moving work outside of the company and to Mexico to cut costs.

"How do we assure jobs are going to be here today, tomorrow and for the kids to take (in the future)," Buffenbarger said. "We need to make progress on job security."

In addition, retention of a pension plan is critical and health care costs are a concern, he said.

It's too soon to speculate on the length of a contract, Boisture said. That evolves out of the discussions. But it should include performance pay and "trigger points" that reopen discussions as the market changes, he said.

Machinists negotiations with Spirit AeroSystems and Cessna Aircraft resulted in extended-term agreements.

This is the second time in a year the union and Hawker Beechcraft have sat down at the bargaining table.

In August, they opened talks a year early as the company flirted with an offer to move its operations to Baton Rouge. The company sought wage cuts and other concessions.

Members rejected the company's offer of a seven-year agreement, and the current contract remained in place.

Separately, the state, city and county offered the company a package of incentives. The company accepted the offer in exchange for maintaining 4,000 jobs in Wichita over the next 10 years.

"I think we're in a different place," Boisture said Thursday. "We had a serious decision to make about the future of our company."

"We have that weight lifted from our shoulders. We're here. We're going to be here."

The major economic factors haven't changed, but this is a new round of talks.

"I don't reference last year," Boisture said.

Boisture described the environment for business jets today as "stubborn."

Problems in Greece and widespread unrest in the Middle East are making buyers nervous, he said.

There must be some kind of a release point for pent-up demand.

In addition, President Obama's critical remarks of the use of business jets last week were also harmful.

"The Obama Administration is no friend to our industry or our working people," Boisture said.

The ability to confidentially fly business jets without being tracked on tracking websites is being eliminated, and Obama is seeking to remove tax breaks for buyers.

That hurts demand.

Still, at some point, the market will upturn.

"In that context we gather here today to forge our future at Hawker Beechcraft in Wichita, Kansas," Boisture said. "It's up to us."

Reach Molly McMillin at 316-269-6708 or [email protected].