Read our editorial on the significance of strikes here.
At least 350 Safran Seats commercial aircraft manufacturing workers in Gainesville, TX, conducted a week-long Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike ending on October 1. The workers reached a new contract with the company that includes more benefits and ends mandatory overtime.
The Safran workers, represented by Teamsters Local 767, are integral to the manufacturing of commercial aircraft passenger and crew seating. The company is a subsidiary of Safran Group, a multi-billion-dollar monopoly that deals in aircraft equipment, interiors, aerospace, and military defense technologies.
On September 18, most voting members rejected an initial tentative proposal from Safran that still included the mandatory overtime provision. Brenda Smith, a Safran worker for nearly 30 years, told local media, “Every contract we’ve lost a lot of our stuff, and this time we just want it back.”
“We do not want mandatory overtime,” Vicky Manual, a Safran worker of 21 years, told local media. “We want fair treatment at work. We want a healthy work-life balance. We should have the option to work overtime if we choose to volunteer, rather than having it mandated.”
A week later, on September 24, Local 767 authorized an Unfair Labor Practice strike to demand a contract to end the mandatory overtime requirement. Local 767 President Dave Reeves told the Gainesville Daily Register, “Due to the Company’s unwillingness to present a fair and beneficial revised tentative agreement that addresses the needs of our Safran Teamsters, Teamsters Local 767 will continue to strike until a fair and honorable contract is presented.”
In a statement to monopoly media, Elodie Marquet, communication deputy director for Safran Seats USA, claimed they had plans in place “to support continued operations and our customers during the strike.”
Despite this claim, on October 1, after seven days on the picket line, Safran Seats USA was forced to concede to the workers’ demands with a new, three-year contract that eliminates forced mandatory overtime and increases wages and 401(k)s. The Teamsters 767 press release did not disclose the amounts of the increases.
Safran Teamsters ratified the agreement with 93% of members voting yes.
Image credit: Teamsters Local 767.
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