Two-Thirds Of Workers Approve New Contract

Machinists working at the New Piper plant in Vero Beach, FL, approved a new contract Thursday night, averting the possibility of a strike at the recovering GA airplane maker.

Sixty-eight percent of voting union members decided to accept the company's contract, accepting a contract they weren't necessarily happy with what Piper said was the best it could offer.

"I am tired and exhausted," paint shop worker Jim Long told the Vero Beach Press Journal. "We did the best we could and it's something we can build a future on." Long is the union's chief negotiator.

The workers -- 729 in all -- had been without a contract since October, 2003, when Piper got a financial shot in the arm from a Maryland-based investment company.

"The union and New Piper agreed from the beginning of contract talks that we would not negotiate in the media," Piper spokesman Mark Miller said in an e-mail to the Vero Beach paper. "We are honorable people, and we plan to stick by that agreement."

FMI: www.newpiper.com