Sikorsky Aircraft officials said Thursday they see no basis to resume negotiations with striking Teamsters, raising the possibility of a prolonged strike at the helicopter maker.

“The union’s apparent unwillingness to accept the company’s health care plan design is discouraging, and provides no basis for resuming negotiations,” the company wrote in a letter to union officials obtained by The Associated Press. “If the union’s position changes with regard to this fundamental issue, please let me know.”

A lengthy strike could pose a problem for the U.S. military, especially in getting vital spare parts such as rotor blades for it’s Sikorsky helicopters, said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute think tank. About 3,600 workers have been on strike since Feb. 20, the company’s first in Connecticut since 1963.

The U.S. Army said it has over 200 Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters currently deployed in Iraq.

“A prolonged shut down of spare parts production potentially endangers Army readiness,” Thompson said. “There’s no way Sikorsky can maintain a high rate of production without the Teamsters on the line.”

Defense officials said they were carefully monitoring the strike, and the company said it is in regular communications with the military to make sure it devotes resources to their priorities.

Sikorsky, based in Stratford, Conn., still has about 6,000 salaried employees on the job. The company has implemented a contingency plan, but officials have acknowledged it is not operating at full production.

“There is a huge demand for spare parts that only Sikorsky can meet,” Thompson said. “Without the Teamsters, the company can’t maintain a coherent production schedule.”

Rising health care costs are at the center of the strike.

Sikorsky has proposed doubling the union members’ health care contributions in the first year of a three year deal and hiking them another 15 percent over the next two years, union officials said.

Under the expired contract, the workers paid about $26 per week for family coverage, both sides said.

George David, chairman of Sikorsky’s parent company, United Technologies Corp., told analysts Tuesday that the company will “stand firm” on the issue because workers throughout UTC’s other divisions have agreed to the same kind of health care cost-sharing.

The two sides met Monday for a general discussion, but did not engage in negotiations.

Rocco Calo, the union’s secretary treasurer, said he was surprised by the company’s stance.

“On Monday we made it very clear we were willing to negotiate,” Calo said. “We have never said we’re at impasse. Obviously it’s upsetting. I think it’s nothing more than a ploy to crush (strikers’) spirits.”

The union is planning additional rallies and is drawing support from other unions around the country, Calo said.

“Our services are needed. They’re going to have to come back to the table and sit down and negotiate with us,” Calo said.

The striking workers make about $65,000 annually with overtime and were offered a $2,000 ratification bonus, 3.5 percent annual pay raises and pension improvements, company officials said. The company agreed to delay implementing the health care changes until next year, according to the letter.

The union wants money allocated for bonuses and incentives in the rejected contract to offset health care costs instead.

United Technologies earned $3.07 billion last year, up from $2.67 billion in 2004.



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