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About 3,000 machinists at jet engine-maker Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut approved a new four-year contract Tuesday, ending a three-week strike over wages, job security and other issues.
Union members were expected to return to work after 74 percent of them voted in favor of the new deal, according to locals 1746 and 700 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of Arlington, Virginia-based RTX Corp., makes engines for commercial and military jets, including the GTF line for Airbus commercial jets and the F135 for the military's F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft fleet.
The union said the new contract, which runs to May 2029, guarantees continued operations at the company's East Hartford and Middletown plants through 2029. It also includes a 6-percent wage increase the first year, followed by raises of 3.5 percent in 2026 and 3 percent in both 2027 and 2028. Retirement benefits also were improved, the union said.
"This agreement includes real gains for our members and proves what we can accomplish when we stick together," Wayne McCarthy, president of Local 700, said in a statement.
The company said in a statement that the contract "recognizes the skill and dedication of our workforce by keeping them among the highest compensated in their field, while ensuring the company is well-positioned for the future."
Union members began picketing in East Hartford and Middletown on May 5, after about 77 percent of union members voted to approve their first strike since 2001.
"Pratt and Whitney is a powerhouse in military and commercial aerospace products because our membership makes it so," David Sullivan, the union's eastern territory vice president, said in a statement at the time.
The company had called its earlier wage and retirement proposal competitive, and said its workforce is among the most highly compensated in the region and industry.
The strike came as RTX faces a potential $850 million hit on profits this year because of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, if the tariff rates remain the same through the year. During its first-quarter earnings call on April 22, the company said its Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace subsidiaries would each shoulder just over $400 million of the potential tariffs hit.
RTX is predicting $83 billion to $84 billion in adjusted sales companywide in 2025. The company's first-quarter earnings were $1.5 billion. Pratt & Whitney's adjusted operating profit in the quarter was $590 million.
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