Raytheon locks out
7 West Loch workers

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems has locked seven workers out of their jobs at the West Loch Naval Installation in an escalating dispute over pay and working conditions, the union representing the employees said.

The workers, who have been battling with Raytheon for years over a labor contract, held a work stoppage on Monday over the company's refusal to address a long list of grievances, including charges of unfair labor practices, said Maria Santiago Lillis, a representative from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

Raytheon responded on Tuesday with a lockout, even though the workers had taken no steps toward a formal strike action, she said.

Lillis said Raytheon has notified the union that it wants to meet today at 8 a.m.

Raytheon representatives could not be reached yesterday.

Workers rejected the company's contract proposal in February 2003 as inadequate. The issue was turned over to a federal mediator in April of last year.

Union membership at Raytheon once stood at 18 employees but has dwindled as workers have left, fed up with the dispute, Lillis said.

Raytheon employs about 50 workers under a contract with the Navy for torpedo maintenance and repair.