WICHITA — Striking Machinists union members at Textron Aviation are scheduled to begin returning to work this week.
Union members voted over the weekend to accept the company’s latest contract offer. The union had rejected the first contract proposal and went on strike Sept. 23.
A simple majority of the roughly 5,000 workers represented by the union was needed to approve the contract. The union did not immediately release results of the vote, which was held Saturday and Sunday at its headquarters in south Wichita.
"We know aircraft in Wichita," Clint Shockley, the business representative for the union, said in a statement. "We also know family, survival, and our members' rooted values here. Local 774 members have shown that through collective action and won."
The new contract takes effect Monday. It runs for five years, a year longer than the initial offer. It includes increased cost of living adjustments and caps on health insurance premiums.
It would increase pay by 31% over the life of the contract. Employees also would get an annual $3 thousand dollar bonus, or $15,000 over five years.
“We are pleased to have ratified a contract with the IAM (International Association of Machinists) that offers our employees, their families and the Wichita community a shared future,” Textron Aviation President and CEO Ron Draper said in a statement.
“We value our workforce and the work they do, and this agreement reflects our commitment to our team. The ratification of this contract marks a new chapter, and we are eager to move forward together.”
For the last four weeks, union members picketed Textron Aviation’s campuses in east and west Wichita.
Textron is one of the city’s largest employers with more than 10,000 workers. It makes and services Cessna and Beechcraft aircraft.
It was the first strike at the company since Beechcraft Machinists walked out in 2008. Textron Aviation, which was formed in 2014, includes the former Cessna and Beechcraft companies.
It was the second aviation strike in about a year. Machinists at Spirit AeroSystems went on strike in June 2023 for nearly a week.
