Union workers at Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems will hold a contract ratification vote on Sunday that could possibly lead to a strike.
Officials of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 933 have told members that the company and union remain βmiles apartβ on issues including wage increases, health-care costs and pensions, though agreements were close on most non-economic issues.
The union has announced a contract ratification vote Sunday morning at a members-only meeting at Rincon High School.
Union officials could not be reached for comment Friday, but failure of any contract proposal could result in a strike as the unionβs three-year contract expires on Sunday.
In negotiation updates to members, union leaders have called the companyβs offers so far βinsulting,β including a wage proposal with no increase this year and only small increases in subsequent years, major increases to workersβ out-of-pocket health-care costs and limited pension eligibility.
As of 2012, the machinistsβ union represented about 1,600 Raytheon hourly workers.
The company and union avoided strikes with 11th-hour deals during their last two contract negotiations in 2012 and 2009.
The last strike at Raytheon was in 2006, when union members walked off the job for 10 weeks before the company agreed to increased wage and health benefits, including a wage increase of 3 percent each year.
Raytheon is Southern Arizonaβs biggest private employer and the second-largest in the region behind the University of Arizona, reporting 9,600 full-time equivalent workers in the latest Star 200 survey.
