…As Company Recovery Continues

The New Piper employees voted to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in October 2003, after New Piper cut wages by 6 percent. They’ve been waiting for a contract ever since. “The [union] doesn’t seem to appreciate what we’re really up against,” Piper President Chuck Suma said in a statement. “This isn’t about being stingy with company money … This is about working to make Piper a company that will survive.” New Piper delivered 37 aircraft in the first quarter of 2005, with billings of about $21 million, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. That was down from 53 aircraft shipped in the same period a year earlier. But there may be very natural reasons for that. The company blamed the drop on delays caused by the hurricanes.