UAW workers approve new contract, ending month-long strike at Lockheed Martin

United Auto Workers members in Orlando and Denver have ratified a new five-year contract with Lockheed Martin, ending a month-long strike that involved more than 900 employees at the defense and aerospace giant.

“This was a hard fight,” said Brandon Campbell, director of UAW Region 4, in a news release. “Lockheed was determined to hold onto every cent of the $24 billion it made during the last three years. But UAW members stood up to win our fair share of the profits that we generate. That raises the standard for workers everywhere.”

Under the new agreement, workers will receive pay increases averaging 19.3% and the company’s wage floor for new hires will rise from the $15 an hour the company initially proposed to $20 an hour. Workers will reach the top of the pay scale faster than in the 16 to 20 years the company had offered. Annual wage increases per year of service will run at $1 or higher compared to the 60 cents previously offered.

The workers, including 320 at the company’s Waterton Canyon campus in Jefferson County, took to the picket lines on May 1 after they rejected a proposed contract in the works since March.

The labor action involved workers at Lockheed’s Space and Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) divisions who were represented by the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) Local 788 in Orlando and Local 766 in Denver.