Sisters and Brothers,
Conditions in the plant, since our last meeting we have had:
3 New Hires
2 Electricians
1 HVAC
18 Recalls
3 Micro B’s
8 Assembly C’s
7 Micro C’s
1 Layoff
1 Material C in Marlborough
8 Open Reqs
All Wafer B’s
3 OSHA Recordable Injuries
- 1 Material C in Andover suffered a strain to their lower back after a trolly they were pushing stopped short from the wheel catching a screw on the ground.
- 1 Electrician in Andover suffered a contusion to their finger after a piece of conduit slid down and pinched their finger between the conduit and a coupler.
- 1 Material C in Andover suffered a strain to their shoulder after lifting a subsystem.
Local 1505 has had 31 recordable injuries year to date. At this point in 2022 Local 1505 had 48 recordable injuries.
Our fiscal year ended June 30th, 2023, with Local 1505 up $34,425.39 from the end of the previous year. This was also an election year for us, which cost us around $30,000.
If you have a pay issue that we are working to resolve, it is important to follow up with your steward when the issue has been corrected. Once the changes have been submitted, we have no way of knowing if it has actually been changed unless we hear from you.
As some of you may know, Raytheon’s Director of Labor Relations, Michael Hunt, has accepted a job as the head of Labor Relations for the Collins division of RTX and no longer works for Raytheon. The company is in the process of replacing him but has not hired anyone yet. In the interim, we are working with Kelly Schenkenberger, who is the VP of Employee & Labor Relations for Raytheon. I want to wish Mr. Hunt well in his new role and I am hopeful for a good working relationship with Ms. Schenkenberger, especially heading into 2024 contract negotiations.
In meeting with Raytheon’s senior leadership team for operations it appears the workflow in 2024 will be similar to what you are seeing now. The supply chain issues look like they will remain flat for the year, with no big improvements. Work in HWIC will not pick back up until Q2 of 2025. In Patriot we are pushing out 18 missiles a month currently, and the company wants to increase that to 20 in 2024 and even higher in 2025. The Strike Initiative program that came to the Andover
machine shop has been a huge success, with Andover receiving major kudos from both the customer and corporate. This is a big deal because it shows RTX that if they put work in Andover, our workforce has the skillset and work ethic to get the job done on time. SeaRAM is also receiving a lot of attention from the U.S. Navy. Rear Admiral D. L. Williams sent a letter to Raytheon thanking us for the work we do and stated that Raytheon’s efforts have saved countless Israeli lives.
Raytheon has put a lot of money in the budget to do a major face lift in Andover to make it more of a show piece. Currently all tours go straight down the main aisle and back the same way. The new design will allow tours to navigate off the main isle and showcase more of what we do in Andover.
At my first meeting as a Vice President on the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, newly elected President Chrissy Lynch asked all delegates what the biggest issue is that their union faces. It interesting to hear response from so many other locals. We heard a variety of issues like worker shortages, companies bringing in new members to try and decertify unions, contract negotiation issues, privatization of public schools, and education of the younger workforce on why unions are important. Two of the issues that seemed to keep repeating though were mental health and substance abuse. These are issues we see in every walk of life, regardless of race, gender or financial status. I’m sure everyone of us knows at least one person dealing with these issues, if not many people. I am pleased to share that fundraiser for the MA AFL-CIO’s Steve Tolman Addiction Relief Fund raised $156,150 this year.
The Annual MA AFL-CIO Scholarship Program is currently in its 65th year. This program gives out half a million dollars of scholarship awards every year on behalf of Local Unions and Labor Councils. Five of these scholarships are for a son/daughter, niece/nephew, or grandchild of an active member of Local 1505, for the amount of $1,505. The deadline to register is December 22nd, 2023, by 5:00 pm. All applicants will take an exam administered at high schools across Massachusetts between February 5th and 9th, 2024, and the top five scores will receive the scholarships. In past years some of these go unfilled, so if you have a family member entering college, please have them sign up. A link is included to the MA AFL-CIO page, with information on how to register, and a study guide.
Scholarship and Labor Education Program | Massachusetts AFL-CIO (massaflcio.org)
In closing, I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.
In Solidarity,
John Bruno
IBEW, Local 1505, AFL-CIO
Business Manager
John.Bruno@local1505ibew.org
