Sikorsky Workers Continue Strike

Helicopters sit and wait on the factory floor in Stratford, Conn., as over 3,000 workers at Sikorsky Aircraft have taken to the picket line in a dispute over health-care coverage. The company proposed to double health-care co-payments right away and then hike them another 15 percent over three years, union officials told The Associated Press. Sikorsky says it’s the same deal that salaried workers get. The workers sacrificed their paychecks and have been getting stipends from a union fund since the walkout began last month, but a few workers reportedly crossed the line to go back to work this week. Sikorsky says the raises and ratification bonus it has proposed amount to more than $16,000 over three years, while the higher health-plan contributions total about $3,500 for a family plan. “We hope you will reconsider your strike and come back to work,” the company said in an ad posted on its Web site.