After 9 days of bargaining, IBEW 1245 reached an agreement with Lockheed Martin on April 8th, and the membership voted and approved the agreement on April 17th.
IBEW 1245 members at Lockheed Martin will receive a 3% lump sum of their last year’s earnings, as well as lump sum payments of $1500.00 for the first, second and third years, and $500.00 the fourth year. They will received a general wage increase of 2.5% the second, third and fourth years. The agreement also provides a ratification bonus of $2700.00 and an 8% pension increase for current employees. In 2014, the total ratification plus lump sum payments will average $6,900 per member. Members can elect to take payment or defer into their retirement plans.
The agreement also provides for increases in the Corporate Lockheed Martin HealthWorks PPO medical plan design, i.e. deductibles, out of pocket maximum; however the new plan design includes deductibles into the out of pocket maximum calculation which mitigates members’ exposure to plan design increases. The Kaiser plan design remains as-is. Premium cost sharing remains unchanged for both plans at 87% employer and 13% employee for the HealthWorks PPO, and 85% employer and 15% employee with Kaiser. The parties will meet in 2017, once the 2018 premium renewal rates are known, in an attempt to agree on plan design changes for any plan that would trigger the PPACA excise tax.
Effective Jan. 1, 2015 the dental plan will cover dental implants. There are no other plan design changes, no cost to employee. In terms of vision benefits, there are no plan design changes for either plan. The Vision 24 plan remains no cost to employee; in the Vision 12 plan the employee cost share remains unchanged. Life and AD&D benefits increase, and remain fully paid by employer for employee coverage. There will be an increase in weekly benefit for Short Term Disability.
“Overall, it’s a good package that the membership welcomed, and they are pleased with the results,” said Business Rep Cruz Serna.
The workers at Lockheed were formerly represented by IBEW local 2131, which merged with IBEW 1245 earlier this year. Learn more about the merger.
Serving on the union’s negotiating committee were employee representatives Todd Shiels and Dennis Douglass; IBEW 1245 Assistant Business Manager Ray Thomas, IBEW 1245 Business Representative Cruz Serna, and former IBEW 2131 Business Manager Jack Floyd.