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Sunday, June 22, 2003

About 580 workers affected at the Roanoke County manufacturer of night-vision goggles

ITT Night Vision union on strike

The company says it will "proceed with business and cover production" the best it can.

By DUNCAN ADAMS
THE ROANOKE TIMES

Union members at ITT Night Vision voted by a large margin Saturday to reject a new labor contract offer from management, and strikers soon lined Plantation Road in Roanoke County.

Several participants said it was the first strike since 1985 at the ITT plant, which manufactures night-vision goggles and related gear.

About 580 union workers will be affected by the strike.

Greg Austin, a steward for Local 162 of the International Union of Electronic/Communications Workers of America, was one of many on the picket line Saturday evening. He and Wayne Kelley both serve on Local 162's executive board.

"We asked for a fair and reasonable contract, and we did not get it," Kelley said.

Local 162's previous contract with ITT Night Vision expired at midnight Friday.

Austin said union members could not accept company provisions related to health insurance coverage, saying that management refused to cap potential premium increases for workers for the life of the proposed four-year contract.

"They want no caps," he said. "They want that wide open and want us to cover the cost of any increases."

In addition, Austin said, hourly workers think their current pension plan is inadequate and inequitable, especially when compared to that of salaried employees.

And although some progress was made during negotiations about mandatory overtime, Austin said, concerns remain about employees being forced to choose work over family.

ITT Night Vision has been working employees six or seven days a week, he said, because of the deluge of orders for night-vision devices since Sept. 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq.

"These people in here have give their heart and soul during the war," Austin said, to meet contract orders. "These people have sacrificed their family life. These people are tired."

Laurel Holder, a spokeswoman for ITT Night Vision, said the company had hoped negotiations would succeed.

"We're very disappointed," Holder said. "We felt like we had a good offer and were disappointed it wasn't accepted."

Holder said ITT Night Vision is "going to proceed with business and cover production the best we can."

A press statement released Saturday evening said the company "will continue to negotiate in good faith with the union, working toward a timely resolution of labor issues."

Kelley said he does not believe company engineers and supervisors will be able to cover production demands.

"We've got shipments going out 24/7," he said.

Austin agreed.

"This company can't afford for us to be out on strike with the business they have," he said.

Both men said strikers will be able to draw money from strike funds maintained both by Local 162 and the national IUE-CWA.

Joey Trovata said he's worked at ITT for 20 years and remembers the strike of 1985, which he said lasted about two weeks. Trovata said he's convinced ITT Night Vision is prospering and believes some of the company's earnings should trickle down to workers on the line.

"We just want them to share the wealth," he said.

Union officials have said the average hourly wage at ITT Night Vision is $14 to $15, which they admit is a higher wage than many Western Virginia manufacturing workers earn. But they have also said many tasks at ITT Night Vision require experienced and skilled workers and that wages received have followed hard-won negotiations.

"This union does care about this community, and we're not greedy," Kelley said.