Letter to President of Sikorsky Aircraft Mr. Jeff Pino and CEO of United Technologies Corp. Mr. George David
Letter to President of Sikorsky Aircraft Mr. Jeff Pino and CEO of United Technologies Corp. Mr. George David
March 30, 2006
Mr. Jeff Pino Mr. George David
President CEO
Sikorsky Aircraft United Technologies Corp.
6900 Main Street United Technologies Building
Stratford, CT 06614-1385 Hartford, CT 06101
We write to urge you in the strongest terms, to resume contract negotiations with employee representatives and to reconsider the decision to move commercial work out of the state.
Recent news reports show that the current situation, in addition to taking its toll on the company's bottom line, the workers and area businesses, may soon affect the preparedness of the Navy's helicopter fleet. In addition, the current dispute between Sikorsky and its workers stands to affect our ability as legislators to advocate on behalf of the company's critically important products. In fact, as the stalemate nears its seventh week, it will become increasingly difficult to assure our colleagues of the reliability and quality of product orders produced by the same skillful and experienced workforce that the United States Armed Forces have depended on for decades, and could impact Sikorsky's promotion of the H-92 as the Air Force evaluates requirements for its new Combat Search and Rescue aircraft.
The situation seems to have been further aggravated with your recent announcement that Sikorsky will begin moving commercial work outside of Connecticut to a workforce lacking the experience and proven skill of Sikorksy's current workers. We request that you reconsider this decision to outsource Sikorsky's commercial work, and clarify for us whether the decision was related to the strike, or whether the move is part of a broader effort to take work out of Connecticut. We do not believe that you will find the same highly-skilled workforce that already exists in Connecticut. The track-record of these employees speaks for itself -- they delivered 49 commercial S-92 and S-76 model helicopters last year alone.
Further, we cannot understand the timing of this announcement. In our view, such a decision is ill-advised especially when the two sides are still within reach of a resolution to this strike. You have told us that Sikorsky seeks a quick end to this strike. We believe that you were - and remain - sincere in this regard. However, yesterday's announcement sends the opposite signal. We fear this decision may lengthen the strike rather than lead to a prompt resolution. Given how close the two sides' most recent proposals appeared to be, it is clear to us that further negotiating - not rash action by either side - would be the best way to resolve this strike.
We again urge you - as we have urged the Teamsters - to remain at the bargaining table until an agreement is reached. The strike must end so that Sikorsky and its workers can get back to the business of making the best helicopters in the world. Sikorsky must continue to do that work in Connecticut, with its highly-skilled, well-trained workforce. We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
ROSA L. DELAURO CHRISTOPHER DODD
JOSEPH LIEBERMAN CHRISTOPHER SHAYS
JOHN B. LARSON
cc: Mr. George David, President and CEO of UTC
Mr. Harvey Jackson, President of Teamsters Local 1150
http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2006/March/sikorsky_letter_3_31_06.html