Machinist union members in Connecticut working for Pratt & Whitney ratified a new contract Sunday that enhances retirement contributions for current members and creates a new defined contribution plan for future workers.
Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. company, and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers' Local Lodges 700 and 1746 represent 2,600 employees in Middletown and East Hartford, Conn.
The new contract runs through May 2022. In January 2017, current employees covered by the contract will have defined benefit pension contributions rise to $80 from $72 per month per credit year, reaching $85 in the fourth year of the contract. Plan assets sizes were not available at press time.
Workers hired after Dec. 31, 2016, will have an employer contribution of $75 per week into a new 401(k) plan, and will be offered an optional Roth IRA plan. Current workers will see the company match into an existing company 401(k) rise from the current $76 per week by $2 more each year of the contract, according to Howard Huestis, Local Lodge 1746 secretary-treasurer.
Along with a general wage increase of 2.5% each year of the contract, it calls for employees to transition to a higher deductible health-care plan in the fourth year of the contract.
Pratt & Whitney lead negotiator Terry Nolan, vice president for employee and labor relations, said in a statement that the contract “rewards our employees for their skill, dedication and hard work, while also positioning the company for long-term success.”
