CLEVELAND, OH – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH),
Co-Chair of the United States Senate Air Force Caucus, sent a letter to the CEO
of Raytheon Technologies, owner of Collins Aerospace’s Plant in Troy, Ohio,
urging the company to come back to the bargaining table and negotiate with its
union employees.
Nearly 300 employees, members of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local
128, at the plant in Troy, were locked out and paychecks were withheld this
week after management and the local union did not reach an agreement.
“I write to express my immense concern about the treatment of
these workers. I am troubled by the aggressive actions of management to lock
out and withhold the paychecks of workers who make the work of Collins
Aerospace (UTC Systems) possible. Your workers contribute to Raytheon’s success
and enhance the economy of the City of Troy and the Miami Valley region,” wrote Senator
Brown.
Brown pointed out that these highly-trained, qualified, and
skilled union members work on a number of platforms including U.S. Air Force
planes. Brown emphasized how alarming it is that these employees would be
locked out of the job amidst the Russian invasion in eastern Ukraine.
The full text of the letter is available
here.
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