Over 100 members of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 99 picketed outside the CIA headquarters in northern Virginia Tuesday, after more than a year of bargaining with their employer, AECOM. AECOM is Local 99's largest single signatory and the operations and maintenance contractor at the CIA, where it employs roughly 300 workers. In bargaining sessions, the contractor put forward demands to cut back pensions and raise health care costs for workers, resulting in the year-long dispute. Local 99 has filed over 100 separate grievances and a pending Unfair Labor Practice charge against the employer in the past four years, which has been a negative change from previous contractors at this site. In early June, members of the local voted unanimously in favor of a strike, which would be their first in well over 30 years. “We’re not used to having problems at this facility,” said organizer Eamon Clifford. “The last time we had a strike in this local, Gerald Ford was President. But we’ll have one now if that is what it takes to safeguard the livelihoods of our members.”
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