Thousands of Pratt & Whitney union members poured into the Oakdale Theatre contract ratification vote in Wallingford on Sunday morning and they left with a vote to strike approved.
The members of IAM Local 700 and Local 1746 representing bargaining unit members at Pratt & Whitney in both Middletown and East Hartford and voted to reject current offers and voted to approve a strike. The vote was held at 10 a.m. The bulk of the union members left the theater around 10:30 a.m. in emphatic fashion.
Michael Lamoureux, the head of the strike committee for Local 700, said that 80 percent of those who voted on Sunday rejected the contract ratification and 77.2 percent voted to go on strike.
Lamoureux said that about 2,100 union members voted in Wallingford on Sunday and only two thirds of the total vote in favor was needed to strike. Lamoureux said he had never seen a vote like that and that union members “started pouring out of the arena after about 20 minutes in a big uproar.”
“This means that we are serious about what we want from the company and what we think is fair,” Lamoureux said. “The overwhelming turnout and overwhelming vote and were done in solidarity. It showed we are really willing to stick together to fight against the company.”
A spokesperson for Pratt & Whitney said Sunday, “Pratt & Whitney’s offer competitively compensates our workforce while ensuring P&W can grow in an increasingly competitive marketplace, creating ongoing economic opportunity in the state of Connecticut.
The inside of the Oakdale Theater minutes before Pratt & Whitney union members from Middletown and East Hartford voted on whether to strike or not.
“Our message to union leaders throughout this thoughtful process has been simple: higher pay, better retirement savings, more days off and more flexibility,” the spokesperson said. “Our local workforce is among the highest compensated in the region and the industry – our offer built on that foundation. We have no immediate plans to resume negotiations at this time and we have contingency plans in place to maintain operations and to meet our customer commitments.”
Lamoureux said the strike starts at midnight and union members will be on the picket line 24 hours a day and seven days a week in both Middletown and East Hartford.
He said the workers will be without pay and it’s the first strike since 2001. He said Middletown workers will have four-hour shifts on the picket lines.
Before the vote, many of the union members chanted and held signs.
More than 3,000 members of IAM Locals 700 and 1746, representing workers at Pratt & Whitney, gathered at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford on Sunday morning to vote to strike.
Lamoureux said the last two strikes were in 1985 and 2001 and both lasted about two weeks.
“I think we are due to express to the company that we are serious about this. We are here to fight for it,” Lamoureux said.
Lamoureux said the biggest three issues are job security, pensions and better wages.
“We’ve seen no continuous improvement towards job security,” Lamoureux said. “Our retirement security is another big one. The company has been trying to do away with pensions for multiple contracts now. There is a big push towards pension. Overall, general wages, with the inflation we have seen. Our wages have not increased at the same rate. We are just getting by.”
Manchester resident Richard Allaire has been a union member in Middletown for more than 20 years.
“Pratt & Whitney’s proposal doesn’t keep up with inflation. Pratt & Whitney’s profits have increased over the past three years over 162 percent. House prices are up, inflation is up, our wages haven’t met the same standard,” Allaire said. “We are just getting whittled away. It affects our quality of life. We are losing class. We should be able to maintain a middle-class wage.”
Driton Ahmetovic is a union member with the East Hartford plant. He echoed that “salaries need to be more competitive with everyone else in the industry.”
“We want to have job security, and we want to have pension security,” Ahmetovic said. “We want to be able to live off of our pensions. With everything that is going on in the world, how are we supposed to live?”
“I’ve been a union member for 21 years,” he added. “This is the biggest and strongest crowd we have seen here. We have all banded together as one and we should get what we want. We want a share of the profits…This sends a message. There is strength in numbers.”
Paul Dickes, the outgoing chief union safety representative at Pratt & Whitney, oversaw the last strike in 2001 and started shortly after the 1985 strike. He’s retiring next month after 39 years on the job.
“I’ve been involved in numerous contracts over the years, and I worked with the negotiating committee and ran the strike in 2001,” Dickes said. “You look at the numbers and what the company says, it doesn’t look bad. But it doesn’t factor in what we are losing and what we lost. The company is offering us less than what the other contracts, like in Florida (have). They got a much better deal. They are offering them much more than what they are offering us.”
“I really think and hope we got out on strike,” Dickes said before the vote. “I’m not saying a strike is good for anybody, but you have to stand up for what’s right. What’s right is a good fair contract with good wages, with pensions. The company has taken away pensions for anybody hired and they are going to be closing pensions. Most people need a pension to survive after retirement…I learned about what the union in Middletown has fought for since 1959. There were a lot of rights people have fought for and we want to keep them.”
A Pratt & Whitney spokesperson said Saturday that it had late Friday,” concluded negotiations with IAM and provided an offer that generously compensates our workforce while ensuring P&W can grow in Connecticut and stay competitive in a challenging market. Our message to union leaders has been simple: higher pay, better retirement savings, more days off and more flexibility. This is what we offered and we believe that our workforce – when given the facts – will agree. Our local workforce is already among the highest compensated in the region and the industry – this latest offer is the most substantial in more than 20 years and ensures Pratt & Whitney maintains its position as the local employer of choice in CT for years to come.”
“This strike is about dignity, respect, job security and protecting middle-class jobs in Connecticut,” said Howie Huestis, president of IAM Local 1746, which represents over 1,600 members at the East Hartford plant. “Workers at Pratt & Whitney in Florida saw larger wage increases than they offered here. We are ready to hold the line for as long as it takes to secure a contract that recognizes the value we create every single day for the company.”
The unions also said leadership of IAM remain “willing to return to the bargaining table if the company is prepared to present a serious offer that values the quality and skill of its workforce.”
U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1, said Sunday that he, stands “with the more than 3,000 workers standing up for better wages, benefits, and job protections in East Hartford and Middletown.
“Each and every day, they build, maintain, and test the most capable engines in the world, including the F135. Record company profits and an increasing market demand for these engines are a testament to the hard work of our region’s machinists and engineers,” he said. “When RTX employees in Florida are being offered larger raises, the skilled and reliable workforce with a long history of making the best engines in the world here in Connecticut should be treated equally for their labor. They deserve a fair contract from their employer that recognizes these contributions and provides the job security they have earned and deserve.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, also in a statement after the vote, said he stands with the machinists “in fighting for basic workplace fairness— decent, well-deserved pay, pensions and job security. Workers need long term certainty in jobs and income to make the American dream real. Our state’s prosperity and progress depends on proper, fair treatment of workers, especially at Pratt where their products are critical to our national defense.”
Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, in joint statement Sunday, said “Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in manufacturing aircraft engines because of their amazing workers, who are critical to the success of our nation’s manufacturing future. We strongly encourage the company’s leadership and the machinists union to come together to reach a fair deal that is negotiated in good faith.”
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, said Sunday that she also stands with “the hardworking members of IAM Locals 1746 and 700 who have voted to strike. These highly skilled workers help power one of Connecticut’s most critical industries – contributing directly to our state’s economic strength and ultimately, our national defense. I am hopeful that an agreement can be reached that reflects the immense value these workers bring to Pratt & Whitney every day.”
Originally Published: May 4, 2025 at 12:19 PM EDT
