Honeywell Council Charts Path Forward
Union representatives from Honeywell facilities around the United States traveled to Buffalo, New York on June 13 and 14 for a meeting of the Honeywell Union Council. The meeting was hosted by USW Local 8823, which represents the hourly workers at the Honeywell research lab in Buffalo.
At the meeting, delegates heard updates from each site including a recap of recent rounds of contract settlements. Over the past several months, local unions in Jacksonville, Minneapolis and Hopewell have all successfully ratified new agreements with the company.
The council was also joined by Ian Tonks and Desmond Edwards of Unite the Union. Unite represents workers at Honeywell facilities in the United Kingdom. Tonks and Edwards told the council about the European Works Council (EWC), which brings together worker representatives at all of Honeywell’s facilities in Europe for regular meetings with the company. Although there are still periodic disagreements with Honeywell, Tonks and Edwards reported that the EWC meetings help to open productive and respectful dialogue with management.
The system of cooperation on dialogue between workers and management in Europe was something that delegates at the Honeywell Council were interested in exploring in the US. After two years of collaborating, sharing information, and showing solidarity as the Honeywell Union Council, delegates at the Honeywell Council meeting were in agreement that this is the time to start to reach out to Honeywell’s senior management to offer to engage in council-wide discussions about opening dialogue and establishing a more productive dialogue with the company.
Upcoming Bargaining
The next several months will continue a very busy year of bargaining with the Honeywell Union Council. USW Local 12103 in Hopewell, VA and USW Local 10-667 in Frankford, PA are both set to enter bargaining shortly. The contract in Hopewell is set to expire on September 30th and the contract in Frankford is set to expire on October 15th. Safety concerns and the use of contractors to perform key maintenance work will likely be major issues at both bargaining tables.