(F-35 Production Assembly Line)
Pentagon Affordability Push Leads to Strike at F-35 Fighter Plant -- Defpro
The continuous pressure from Pentagon policymakers on F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin to cut pension costs has finally borne fruit: workers at the fighter plant voted by a huge margin Sunday to go out on strike, citing proposed changes to pensions. Although the company offered members of the Machinists local at the west Fort Worth factory annual pay increases, a $3,000 signing bonus and various other inducements to accept a new contract, the rank-and-file were incensed by a proposal to restructure benefits and scale back pensions for any new hires. So even though controversy surrounding the F-35 fighter has already reduced planned production rates through 2017 by three-quarters, the union was so mad it voted to strike.
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Update: Lockheed F-35 workers ready for long strike, union says -- Reuters
My Comment: Any long strike will only raise costs and delay production goals .... a sequence of events that will only raise more questions on the F-35 program. This could become very bad .... and very costly.