Published: June 08, 2009 10:26 pm         

Strike begins

The only things soaring in the skies above Vance Air Force Base Monday had feathers.

The strike by members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 898 against CSC Applied Technologies LLC and three subcontractors, which began at 12:01 a.m. Monday, has caused a temporary suspension of normal flying operations at Vance.

Col. Richard Murphy, acting commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing, said the base is assessing the mission impact of the strike. Among the many jobs performed by contract employees at Vance are a number of services vital to the flying training mission, such as aircraft maintenance and crew life support.

“The wing’s response to the strike is driven by several factors,” Murphy said. “One is the concern for the well-being of our personnel and the families who live here on base.”

Since the Vance fire department is staffed by CSC employees, Murphy said Air Force personnel from Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., Altus Air Force Base and Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., “have been brought in to ensure that we have a fire department staffed to respond to emergencies on base.

“We also have Security Forces augmentees from this base activated to ensure the safety of base personnel and property,” Murphy said.

Despite the fact the planes weren’t flying Monday, said 1st Lt. Agneta Murnan, Vance’s Public Affairs chief, “The students aren’t off the hook. The students are expected to study and focus on their performance in simulators. Much of their training occurs on the ground and in simulators, and that hasn’t stopped.”

Members of IAMAW Local Lodge 898 voted overwhelmingly Friday night to reject the latest contract offer from CSC and subcontractors PRI/DJI, DenMar Services and M1 Support Services, and to go on strike once the existing three-year contract expired at midnight Sunday.

Picketing began at 12:01 a.m. Monday with some 40 workers marching near the industrial gate on south Cleveland. That number swelled to hundreds as the sun came up later that morning.

“The Air Force has been really good working with us, and the city police,” said Bob Wood, spokesman for the IAMAW. “They are great guys here.”

Little girls in one of the houses on South Cleveland near the picket line set up a lemonade stand to sell cold drinks to striking workers, he said.

“I feel bad, we talked to them (residents of the area) before the strike started and they have been great,” Wood said. “We’re really appreciative. It’s going to be a disruption for them. It’s usually nice and quiet and all of a sudden 300 people are in front of their house all day long.”

No negotiations took place Monday, and none are planned, said Wood.

The union has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against CSC alleging company misconduct during the contract negotiations. Charges include threatening to fire employees if they went out on strike and changing health insurance rates after the final proposal was given to the union negotiating team.

“These are serious charges,” Wood said. “When you have people getting direct threats that they will be fired if they honor the picket line, those are serious charges. And the stuff they did with insurance the day of the vote.”

Caroline Longanecker, spokeswoman for CSC, said the company had no comment on the strike and the union’s charges, other than a statement issued Saturday, which read, in part, “Until our staff returns to work, CSC Applied Technologies will continue to support its customer. We will keep facilities operating and ensure that critical services are provided without jeopardizing safety, which is upmost [sic].”

Many Vance facilities were not operating Monday, however, not limited to the flying training mission. The Vance swimming pool, which is contractor operated, was closed, forcing girls at the 35th annual Camp Tomahawk to settle for a water balloon fight rather than an afternoon at the pool.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., came to Enid to meet with company and union leaders Sunday to try and avoid the strike, to no avail.

“He did everything in his power to get this thing resolved,” said Mike Cooper, city of Enid military liaison, who was with Inhofe Sunday.

Cooper called the strike, “absolutely disastrous for everyone,” citing not only national defense concerns, but also the local economy.

“The national defense issue trumps everything,” he said. “We would hope everybody on both sides understands this is a matter of utmost importance to national defense and natural security. There are no winners here, and the losers are Enid and Vance.”

Rep. Mary Falin of Oklahoma’s 5th Congress-ional District, reached out to both union and company representatives Monday to stress the importance of settling the labor dispute at Vance.

“It is extremely important for this dispute to be resolved as quickly as possible,” she said. “Vance Air Force Base is an important part of our air defense and plays an absolutely vital role in the health of the surrounding community. Reaching an agreement soon is essential to Vance’s future and to the economic well-being of Enid and the entire state of Oklahoma.”

Cooper warned the strike could negatively impact Vance in future Base Realignment and Closure rounds.

“At the end of the day you do not have pilots being trained,” Cooper said. “That will be hard to defend in any future BRAC.”

Wood disagreed.

“There have been a lot of bases that had strikes and they are still there,” Wood said, “and some places never had one and they were closed. Vance and the folks here have a lot more going for them than the fact they never had a strike. They do what they do well and have a great location. They have a lot more to sell. We feel, let’s get this fixed, get it finished and move on and it will not hurt us.”

The last previous strike at Vance occurred in 1965. It involved 58 firefighters and lasted more than two months.



Staff writer Robert Barron contributed to this report.