By Steve Higgins

Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) — Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp., had its plan to close two Connecticut aircraft repair plants blocked by a federal judge who ruled the jet engine manufacturer breached its collective bargaining agreement with a labor union.

Pratt & Whitney didn’t do enough to keep a 1,000 jobs from a jet-engine overhaul facility and an aircraft repair plant from being moved to places such as Columbus, Georgia, Singapore and Japan by 2011, U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall ruled late yesterday.

The judge wrote that Pratt violated its “obligation to make ‘every reasonable effort’ to preserve the work of the” union members at the two plants. She issued an injunction barring the reorganization during the term of the collective bargaining agreement, which ends in December.

Hartford, Connecticut-based United Technologies, which also makes Sikorsky helicopters and Otis elevators, said Jan. 27 that fourth-quarter profit fell in part on declining revenue from commercial airline parts and contracts. The company is Connecticut’s largest private employer with more than 26,000 of its 200,000 workers stationed in the state.

“We hope that after the dust settles, the company will recognize what we have said all along — these are the most highly skilled overhaul, repair and refurbishment workers in the world,” said Jim Parent, a spokesman for the International Association of Machinists. “Pratt may think that moving the work will save costs, but quality and reliability are crucial in aerospace operations.”

The Closure

United Technologies officials announced in September the closure of the Cheshire overhaul plant and the decision to shift some operations from the East Hartford repair center. The recession hurt sales of plane engines and shifts in the aerospace market forced the firm to beef up its Asian operations, executives said in a Sept. 21 statement.

Pratt said yesterday that it’s considering an appeal.

“We upheld our contractual obligations to act in good faith and made every reasonable effort to keep this work in Connecticut,” said company spokesman Greg Brostowicz.

Company officials had previously met with union members and state officials, who offered United Technologies $100 million in incentives aimed at saving the plants, according to court documents. Those proposals left the firm “far short” of the savings needed to keep the jobs in Connecticut, executives said at the time.

Bridgeport Court

The union filed suit in federal court in Bridgeport in September, alleging United Technologies violated contract provisions requiring it to make “every reasonable effort” to keep the jobs in the state.

Pratt’s attorneys argued the contract acknowledges the company’s right to protect its financial interests, and said faltering economic conditions forced the relocations.

The company’s lawyers noted that the Cheshire facility, which employs more than 800 of the affected workers, hasn’t been profitable for several years, primarily due to high labor and overhead costs.

The union asked the judge to issue an injunction against United Technologies’ plan before workers’ existing contract expires. Union lawyers argued the company decided to close the two facilities before negotiations over the next contract could begin.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal backed the union’s claims, arguing at a Jan. 27 hearing that United Technologies’ negotiations with workers and state officials were a “sham and charade to conceal its foregone conclusion to move jobs out of state.”

The case is District Lodge 26 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers AFL-CIO v. United Technologies Corp., 09-CV-01494, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut (Bridgeport).

–With assistance from Jef Feeley in Wilmington, Delaware, and Rachel Layne in Boston. Editors: John Pickering, David E. Rovella

To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Higgins in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, Connecticut, at steve@higginswriting.com.

via Pratt & Whitney Plant Shutdown Plan Blocked By U.S. Judge – BusinessWeek.