Letter to Jim Taiclet, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation - Congresswoman Nikema Williams Leads Georgia Democratic Delegation in Effort to Protect Jobs for Georgians
Letter
Dear Mr. Taiclet,
It has come to our attention that Lockheed Martin Corporation has presented the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local Lodge 709 a proposal to
outsource the union-represented Fire Safety Department at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
facility in Marietta, Georgia. As members of the Georgia congressional delegation, we are
concerned by this proposal and the potential negative impact on workers and your facility's
longstanding record of safety and health. We urge you to work in good faith with IAM Local 709
to protect workers' jobs and positions.
The Lockheed Martin Marietta facility employs over 5,000 Georgians working across a 900-acre
campus with myriad buildings, entryways, and corridors. As firefighters, first responders, and
EMTs, the Marietta Fire Safety Department has decades of training and experience protecting the
safety and health of the workforce, as well as the government funded assets, located on this large
and complex campus. These workers have the institutional knowledge of this campus that is
necessary to best protect their colleagues. We are concerned by the risks that could come with
replacing this highly trained and experienced safety team with outside contractors with little
knowledge of the facility.
The Fire Safety Department is a group of 50 proven professionals who are known to go above
and beyond the call of duty in serving the Lockheed Martin facility and local community and
who are deeply committed to health and safety. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, they have
continued to work in tight quarters, braving the risk of infection to keep the Lockheed Martin
Aeronautics facility and their fellow employees safe.
We urge you to support the workers who have provided firefighting services to this facility for
over 50 years and work in good faith to preserve these valued positions.
Sincerely,
Nikema Williams
Member of Congress
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