Bell Helicopter, UAW Local 218 Have New Contract

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, has a new collective bargaining agreement with the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), and UAW Local 218, which represents about 2,400 of the company's production and manufacturing employees. Bell Helicopter has more than 10,500 employees worldwide.

 

"I'm very pleased that UAW Local 218 and Bell Helicopter have worked together to successfully reach an agreement on a new contract," says John L. Garrison, president and CEO of Bell Helicopter. "This contract allows us to continue to compete in the competitive, global marketplace - providing our customers with the differentiated, cost-competitive products they need to save lives and protect our freedoms."

 

The members of UAW Local 218, headquartered in the Fort Worth suburb of Hurst, Texas, ratified a 5-year contract on October 13. According to the union’s website, the contract ratification results were 93% for, 7% against. 

 

On Sept. 23, 2013, Bell Helicopter laid off 290 hourly and salaried employees, mostly in Fort Worth. Officials blamed reductions in defense spending and the sequester for the lay-offs. In partnership with Boeing, Bell Helicopter builds the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft for the military at its Hurst, Texas, facility.