As we reported earlier, Pratt & Whitney moved to outsource some of their two Connecticut-based factory operations to more business-friendly environments in Japan, Singapore, and Georgia. A judge recently put the kibosh on those plans, at least until the current Machinist contract expires in December 2010. A clause in the current contract led the judge to rule that the 1000 jobs could not be moved until the contract expired. This action is likely to inspire unions to seek similar clauses in all new contracts. In essence, the clause stated that the company “actively and in good faith” make “every reasonable effort,” to keep the jobs in Connecticut. Most such guarantees don’t go to quite the extent that this contract did to prohibit the company from moving work, but unions are sure to latch onto such clauses and fight hard for them in the future. James Parent, a top Machinists union official, said he would seek a similar guarantee in the upcoming May contract negotiations for 1,100 union workers at Hamilton Sundstrand. “That will definitely be one of the proposals,” said Parent. “It’s something that all labor unions will want included in their contracts.” If you’d like some ideas for clauses to include in your next contract negotiations, take a look at our book Model Contract Clauses.
