Congressional Dems urge Lockheed to not outsource firefighters at Marietta plant

Chart Riggall, Marietta Daily Journal, Ga.
·2 min read

Oct. 22—Georgia's Democratic members of Congress are urging Lockheed Martin to reconsider a plan to replace dozens of unionized firefighters at its Marietta plant with private contractors.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local 709, which represents the workers, said in a statement Friday that 41 firefighters and three safety technicians are threatened by the move.

"The firefighters and safety technicians in the Lockheed Martin Fire Department are essential workers and we hope to save the jobs of these faithful first responders," said IAM Southern General Vice President Rickey Wallace.

"They risk their lives every day to keep the facility and the personnel inside safe from harm ... The company should focus on putting out great products that help keep our nation safe and relying on experienced personnel to keep the workers safe. We will commit our full resources to fight back this outrageous outsourcing scheme."

According to the union, Lockheed has employed its own in-house firefighting team since 1961. One of the firefighters lost their life to the COVID-19 pandemic, and another was hospitalized for months.

All eight of Georgia's Congressional Democrats signed a letter to Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet calling on the aerospace giant "to work in good faith with IAM Local 709 to protect workers' jobs and positions."

The office of U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, who represents the area, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the dispute.

In a statement provided to the MDJ Friday, Lockheed spokesperson Rob Fuller said no final decisions have been made, and nothing is a done deal yet.

"We regularly explore opportunities to improve quality and efficiency in our business operations, while ensuring the safety of all employees. When there is potential for impact on our represented employees, we inform union leadership," Fuller said.

"This notification takes place before any decision is made and provides union leadership the opportunity to share its view of the potential change. The union views are included with other information and analysis when we consider changes to business operations. At this time there are no decisions regarding any initiatives or changes and, as a matter of practice, we do not speculate on pre-decisional or conceptual changes."