[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 137 (Thursday, October 17, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H8026]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       OUR PUBLIC DEPOTS ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE DEFENSE OF AMERICA

  The SPEAKER. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about 
a very important issue. Driving back to DC., from North Carolina on 
Tuesday, I was listening to the radio. Paul Harvey made a statement, 
``Blackhawk down in Alabama.'' Certainly that got my attention, as it 
would anyone.
  What he was talking about is the fact that the workers down at 
Sikorsky had gone on strike. These are the people that are responsible 
for preparing and keeping our 105 helicopters, Blackhawks, up in the 
air and ready to carry our troops to defend our Nation.
  This got my attention because I have a depot in my district. It is 
down at Cherry Point. I want my colleagues in the House to know that 
these public depots are extremely important to the national security of 
this Nation. A public depot provides maintenance, engineering, 
logistics, and support to the United States military. Public depots are 
staffed by Federal employees and provide a strike-free workforce to 
repair and maintain the equipment that our men and women need to defend 
this Nation.
  For an example, in my district, we have a naval aviation depot at 
Cherry Point. It employs over 3,500 people in the upkeep and 
maintenance of numerous aviation platforms, most of which are used by 
the Navy and Marine Corps. However, they also perform work on other 
platforms for the Special Operations Command, the Army, and the Air 
Force.
  We actually have in this Congress a Depot Caucus. It is made up of 
Democrats and Republicans who truly understand the importance of having 
these public depots. The men and women that work at these depots, they 
are so important to the national security of this Nation that a few 
years ago when the commandant of the Marine Corps at the time, General 
Krulak, appeared before the Committee on Armed Services and the 
question was asked, How important are the public depots to the Marine 
Corps, his statement, Mr. Speaker, was this: he said that the public 
depot is absolutely critical to the 911 force of this country.
  The reason I come to the floor today is because those of us, again, 
on both sides of the political aisle who are part of the Depot Caucus, 
we had the same situation with the Clinton administration that we had 
with the Bush administration. Many of the people in these 
administrations do not appreciate the fine work that the public 
employees are doing at these depots, and we continually battle to make 
sure that there is a partnership so that the public depots can remain 
strong, not only for the present, but also for the future.
  Let me read just a couple of sentences from this article about 
Sikorsky Workers Strike, Call Contract Proposal Unfair. It says: 
``Unionized workers at an Alabama plant that builds and repairs 
Blackhawk helicopters for the military went on strike on Monday, 
calling the company's contract offer unacceptable.
  ``About 105 helicopter mechanics represented by the Teamsters union 
chanted and picketed outside Sikorsky Support Services, Inc., after 
contract negotiations broke down after a month.''
  The reason I wanted to come to the floor again, Mr. Speaker, today is 
because our Nation is at war. It has not been declared as a war, but we 
have men and women in Afghanistan and other parts of the world, and 
they are fighting each and every day. Many are being killed.
  Those at the public depots are the kind of employees that, by Federal 
law, cannot strike; so what they do whenever they are called upon, they 
go overseas, like during Desert Storm. Many from my district of North 
Carolina, the Third District, where Cherry Point is located, these 
people went over to make sure that the equipment that our fighting 
forces needed was in top-notch shape. So we must as a Congress remember 
that the public depots are absolutely critical to the national security 
of this Nation.
  Just a couple of other points and then I will close, Mr. Speaker. I 
think that too many times everybody says, we want to privatize this, we 
want to privatize that. But when we come to the national security of 
this Nation, again, the commandant of the Marine Corps at that time, 
General Krulak, made the statement that if we did not have the public 
depots, we would jeopardize the 911 force of this country.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope in this next Congress we will continue to work 
together to ensure that our public depots remain strong and are given 
what they need to be certain that they can maintain the equipment that 
our men and women in uniform need so desperately to defend the national 
security of this country.
  I will close by reading the last paragraph, and then I will include 
this article for the Record.
  ``The company recently announced it had landed a $1.5 billion 
contract to build 80 H-60 Blackhawk helicopters for the Army and 82 H-
60 utility helicopters for the Navy.''
  Again, as I close, I just want to say that our public workers at the 
public depots, they do not strike under any circumstances. They are 
always there to maintain what our military needs so they can continue 
to defend the national security of this Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I will say that we must remember our men and women in 
uniform. I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform, and I 
ask God to please bless America.
  The article referred to is as follows:

              [From the Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 15, 2002]

         Sikorsky Workers Strike, Call Contract Proposal Unfair

       Troy, AL.--Unionized workers at an Alabama plant that 
     builds and repairs Blackhawk helicopters for the military 
     went on strike on Monday, calling the company's contract 
     offer unacceptable.
       About 105 helicopter mechanics represented by the Teamsters 
     union chanted and picketed outside Sikorsky Support Services 
     Inc. after contract negotiations broke down after a month.
       Union negotiators said the company's contract offer 
     weakened workers' health benefits. But Ed Steadham, a 
     spokesman at the company's headquarters in Stratford, Conn., 
     said he was disappointed the contract was rejected.
       Sikorsky has offered a 10 percent pay raise over three 
     years and improved pension benefits, Steadham said.
       ``The company believes it offered a competitive package of 
     pay and benefits,'' he said in a statement.
       Union spokesman Rocco Calo said the company wants to triple 
     inpatient hospitalization co-payments for workers and 
     increase annual deductible fees.
       Sikorsky Support Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of 
     Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.
       The company recently announced it had landed a $1.5 billion 
     contract to build 80 H-60 Blackhawk helicopters for the Army 
     and 82 H-60 utility helicopters for the Navy.

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