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Abstract
For his part, [Andy Romegialli], 41, said he feels the same frustration and anger of his members. The Plainville resident said that unlike UTC and Pratt executives, he lives in the same kind of communities as the factory workers. He said he sees the pain the jobs cuts cause.
[Earl Evans], a Pratt worker since 1966, said his concerns are more with internal union operations. He criticized Romegialli's communications with the various locals as well as a plan to take more dues from the locals for the district.
Credit: Michael McAndrews /The Hartford Courant; Caption:Andy Romegialli, directing labor representative of District 91 of the Machinists union, has found himself trying to stem job losses rather than fighting to improve working conditions for his members, who work at Pratt & Whitney and Hamilton Standard
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A would-be foe in the upcoming union election has been disqualified -- at least temporarily -- for missing a filing deadline. So Andy Romegialli could gain a second term as the top official of Machinists District 91 without a vote being cast.
But if you think this is an easy time for the leader of the union representing factory workers at Pratt & Whitney and Hamilton Standard, think again.
The union's membership is being systematically thinned by thousands of layoffs, and Romegialli's supporters acknowledge that their man's re-election campaign could have become a lightning rod for membership frustrations.
Instead of fighting to improve working conditions, Romegialli has found himself in recent years trying to stem job losses. He agreed that worker anger can get focused on the union.
"When the layoffs come, people in the shop have to vent their frustrations," he said. "They can't get to the company because the company won't listen."
The machinists' status may be the state's most-publicized labor situation, but similar scenarios are being played out in unionized factories across Connecticut and the nation.
Many union leaders are in the unenviable position of trying to salvage jobs and contract provisions at a time when manufacturers are saying they must cut costs to survive.
Pratt and Hamilton, both divisions of United Technologies Corp., are struggling with the double burdens of a hemorrhaging aerospace industry and reduced defense spending. Morale has been sinking steadily among both white-collar and blue-collar workers at both divisions.
As of this week, the District 91 election -- scheduled to be completed next Wednesday -- is on hold, pending a ruling by the international union on the appeal filed by Earl Evans. Evans is the secretary-treasurer of Local 1746 in East Hartford who hopes to challenge Romegialli.
Evans won the endorsement of his local -- one of five in the district -- but union officials say he did not file the required certification with the district lodge within five days of the endorsement meeting. Evans said he merely had to have the certification mailed within those five days, adding that he thinks the ground rules were changed to stop his candidacy.
Although Romegialli said he could not discuss the eligibility fight, he did say he is ready for a campaign -- if it happens. He plans to focus on the successes of his first four years in the post, including a 1991 contract agreement with Pratt that was touted as a model for the industry at the time.
And he vowed to keep fighting to preserve jobs at Pratt, which has announced plans to continue scaling back and is soon expected to announce the shutdown of at least two plants.
The cutbacks have already been steep. Pratt now has about 8,500 hourly workers in Connecticut, compared with about 17,500 in 1983, the company says.
"Right now, we are in the position of trying to convince the company to save as many jobs as possible," Romegialli said, adding that the union has offered several alternatives -- including shorter workweeks and use of a state program that augments furlough time with unemployment pay -- that could cut costs without cutting as many jobs.
"So far, most have been rejected, but we haven't given up on any of those," he said.
But limited progress by the union has spawned an offshoot known as the Concerned Workers Network, a group that has advocated more forceful efforts to pressure the company to stop the layoffs at the plants in East Hartford, Middletown, Southington, North Haven, Cheshire and Rocky Hill.
The group has organized noisy, attention-grabbing protests in front of UTC's Hartford headquarters and in front of the homes of top executives.
Romegialli has called instead for a rallying together of labor and community groups to pressure Congress to act to help the troubled aerospace industry.
Mary Ellen Jones, a spokeswoman for Pratt, said the company is doing what it must to respond to market conditions and improve its competitiveness. Many of the union proposals, she said, would help only in short-term downturns.
"But we are looking at long-term reductions in our business that, unfortunately, demand long-term solutions," Jones said.
For his part, Romegialli, 41, said he feels the same frustration and anger of his members. The Plainville resident said that unlike UTC and Pratt executives, he lives in the same kind of communities as the factory workers. He said he sees the pain the jobs cuts cause.
He started his career at Pratt in 1973 at the Middletown plant. He quickly became involved in the union, serving as a shop steward before the end of his first year. From there, Romegialli started a steady climb through the union hierarchy.
He became directing labor representative in 1989, following Betty Webber, a one-time East Hartford worker who had led the union through the divisive strike of 1985. That year, workers in the Middletown, Southington and North Haven union locals voted to strike, while those in East Hartford voted not to.
That split gave Pratt the upper hand in negotiations and hurt the effectiveness of the walkout.
The next round of talks, in 1988, proved smoother, and the 1991 talks produced a contract that both sides praised as a step toward better union-management cooperation.
But the dramatic scaling back since has taken its toll on cooperative efforts and factory morale.
Evans, a Pratt worker since 1966, said his concerns are more with internal union operations. He criticized Romegialli's communications with the various locals as well as a plan to take more dues from the locals for the district.
"His budget would have gotten fatter and ours would have gone bankrupt," Evans said.
But Romegialli said his concerns are for all workers represented by the union. He said he recognizes that the quality of members' jobs depends on the financial health of the company, but he is concerned that Pratt's strategy is wrong.
"What we are afraid they are doing," he said of Pratt management, "is looking at only the short term. And the way they are going, they are going to hurt themselves more than they have ever hurt in the past."
And pain for the company, he said, means continued pain for its workers
Credit: Michael McAndrews /The Hartford Courant; Caption:Andy Romegialli, directing labor representative of District 91 of the Machinists union, has found himself trying to stem job losses rather than fighting to improve working conditions for his members, who work at Pratt & Whitney and Hamilton Standard
(Copyright @ The Hartford Courant 1993)