F-35 At The Centre Of Lockheed Martin Strike

Lockheed Martin has found itself at the centre of a bitter union strike that shows no signs of simmering down.

      The machinists’ union officials filed a complaint against Lockheed Martin on June 6 claiming unfair labor practices. The move comes during a seven-week strike against the fighter aircraft maker.

      Since April 19, the day Lockheed Martin made its final contract offer, the union has filed six complaints with the National Labor Relations Board office in Fort Worth. The latest complaint says that the company moved the F-35 fighter jet work to Marietta, Ga., as a way of "interfering with, restraining and coercing" workers on strike in Fort Worth.

      "We want them to follow the law. They have been breaking the law," said Robert Wood, spokesman for District Lodge 776 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

      "Since the new F-35 center wing assembly line opened in our Marietta facility, the company has planned to move all center wing assembly work from Fort Worth," Lockheed spokesman Joe Stout said. "Lockheed Martin is not taking work away from our Fort Worth facility as a result of the work stoppage".

      Stout also said that the decision to move the work F-35 wing assemblies was taken months "before we knew of the possibility of a strike" in Fort Worth.

      While no formal negotiations have been scheduled, both parties are refusing to budge.