I am running for President and a position on the Senior Board (Negotiations Committee) for our Local Lodge 727P. I am seeking your support in the upcoming election and would appreciate your vote on December 11th. Now to why you should vote for me.
President
I am running for President to play my part and lead our Local. I intend to lead our Local in a direction of growth so we can better provide the resources our members deserve.
I will fulfill the duties of the President to the best of my abilities as defined within our ByLaws and the IAM Constitution.
Such Duties are as follows…
▪ To preside over all meetings of the Lodge and preserve and ensure the orderly conduct of business.
▪ To enforce the ByLaws and all provisions of the IAM Constitution and District Lodge ByLaws that apply to our Lodge.
▪ To decide all points of order and in case of a tie shall cast the deciding vote for what I believe to be the best interest of the Local and Membership.
▪ I shall appoint all Committee Members who I feel will best represent that committee’s responsibilities and the membership.
▪ I shall also serve as an ex officio member on all committees and make sure that all committees function properly.
Senior Board (Negotiations Committee)
I am also running for a position on the Senior Board. As the Communicator for our Local, I was involved in the Negotiations between Lockheed Martin and our Membership of 727P in relaying the information that was discussed daily between our Senior Board and Lockheed. Now I want to be on the other end of that and be at the table fighting for a better contract our next time around. Since we ratified our last contract I have already been combing through looking for changes and improvements I would hope to see for our membership the next time around.
Some examples of changes I hope to push for are as such…
▪ Promotion in place. One of the most irritating things I have seen around here at Lockheed is to fix the way promotions to the next level in your job family are handled. When someone is qualified for the senior position of the classification, they already work, and having to wait for an available opening is the dumbest way I have seen a business run. If I were someone running a business, I want a team full of senior employees. I want everyone to be the highest level employee on my team and not hold them back from progression in their career. If you are qualified for the higher position I want you to be able to get it while still working in your current area.
▪ The removal of the ability for Salaried Employees to return to the bargaining unit with no loss of seniority. Personally, if you choose to leave the bargaining unit for a salaried position, I don’t believe you should have the safety net to come back without a penalty. That penalty should be the loss of your seniority. With all the recent layoffs we have had this last year, Seniority is very important.
▪ The reduction in the time required to earn more vacation at higher rates. As of now, you don’t receive 10 hours of vacation each month until you have 9 years of seniority. I know Lockheed can do better. My previous place of employment offered that after 5 years.
▪ An increase in PTO. We are offered 50 hours of PTO each year. With what we experienced with COVID, I believe we should be awarded a bit more. Everyone gets sick sooner or later and not providing enough PTO forces people within our membership to come to work sick. Also with the majority of the facility working a 4/10 schedule, those hours are eaten very quickly when you get sick. I would like to push for more in our next negotiations.
▪ It might not be the most popular choice, but I would like to see our schedules adjusted. I would like to see the complete removal of the 9/80 shift and a change to the 3/12 shift. I know Northrop offers the same weekend shift, however they offer a 3/10 and pay for 40. With that, Lockheed would probably have so many new volunteers for that shift.
▪ A correction and adjustment to the Premiums for all odd shifts. The swing shift should be 10%, again to match Northrop and the weekend shift be it 3/12s or if we can match Northrop with 3/10s should have the verbiage to match what Lockheed wants to call your “Full Factor.” Regardless if it’s a holiday or vacation, that shift should be compensated to a full 40-hour work week.
▪ Next is Rate Progression within your labor grade. $.25 4 times a year is an improvement from the previous contract, it still takes too long for people to progress. Lockheed seems to ignore the fact that they can give raises outside of the rate progression so we need to force it to allow for our membership to max out sooner.
▪ That same thing goes for a Promotion. Our current contract offers $1.00 for the promotion. That means if you go from a LG3 to a LG14 you only get $1.00 more per hour. I believe it should be more. As an example, I believe it should be $1.00 per Labor Grade. So if you go up 4 Labor Grades it’s a $4.00 Promotion.
▪ Next and one of the biggest areas I know the membership struggles with is insurance benefits. Let’s face it, the plans that are offered “SUCK!” While the cost share is better on this contract verse the last, the plans to choose from are shit. I would like to see a plan offered that provides quality coverage. Even if it’s double the cost, I want to see it as an option.
These are some of the many things I would try and push for in our next negotiations if I am elected for Senior Board.
Thank you for your time in reading about why I am running for President and Senior Board. I hope I can earn your vote and do my best to represent our membership in both leading the Local as President and representing the Bargaining Unit of Lockheed Martin in our next Negotiations.
Thank you,
Derrick Hernandez
