Unionized LGE Employees on Strike over Contract

About 30 unionized employees of , formerly Lockheed Credit Union, began striking in front of branches Saturday, after rejecting a contract proposal. A few employees have gone back to work.

"We were actually very surprised that it's gone this far," Andrea Shorr, a spokeswoman at LGE said. "This is the first time that it's gone to this point when we've had labor negotiations."

The union began negotiations in October. Although the contract expired on Nov. 1, LGE’s CEO Chris Leggett extended it to Dec. 1. The union voted to strike on Dec. 2.

A key issue for workers is the pension plan, according to Denise Rakestraw, president of the International Association of Machinists Local Lodge 709.

"They want to freeze the pension plan for those who have five years or more; their pension will be frozen, their benefits will never increase," Rakestraw said. "And the ones with less than five years will have no defined benefit pension."

Shorr mentioned that LGE is offering a 401(k) plan with a 5 percent annual contribution.

"The credit union is pretty disappointed that the union made the decision to strike," Shorr said. "They think the proposal is actually very competitive with other credit unions and businesses in the area."

Another key issue is LGE's offering of merit-based wage increases of 2 to 6 percent, which may be issued in the form of a lump sum bonus as opposed to an increase in hourly wages.

"Another important issue to these employees is being transferred between the different branches," Rakestraw said. "It's not easy for them to be transferred between locations."

The changes to the contract affect about 80 of the 200 employees at LGE, Shorr said.

"Less than half of the employees are covered by the union contract and an even smaller number are paying dues," Shorr said. "So there are around 80 credit union employees under the union contract and only 25 to 30 dues-paying members."

Employees are striking in front of the seven LGE branches during business hours Monday through Friday as well as the four branches open for reduced hours on Saturday.

Mike Owens, a negotiator for International Association of Machinists Local Lodge 709, stood outside the Hiram LGE branch Friday afternoon. He said as many as four strike participants stood outside the branch over the course of the day.

All of LGE's branches are open and conducting normal business hours. LGE is headquartered on South Fairground Street in Marietta and has about 98,000 members.

Dallas-Hiram Patch Editor Jon Gargis contributed to this report.