STRIKE AVERTED AT SKUNK WORKS.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

Less than three hours before a walkout scheduled for 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, union members accepted a three-year contract proposal to avoid a strike at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works aerospace plant in Palmdale.

The union also voted against a strike at the Georgia aerospace plant. The last strike against the company was in 1977.

``We got what we wanted, but we didn't get as much as (the minority) wanted,'' said Al Shaver, local president at Palmdale and a member of the union negotiating team. ``We got the programs they wanted, just not the amounts for the programs.''

The vote countered a vocal minority favoring a strike at a union meeting Tuesday.

The final Palmdale vote was 802 to ratify the three-year deal and 717 to reject it, with four voided votes. It was voted in by 53 percent of the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers District Local 725. Roughly 82 percent of the membership turned out to vote.

A strike could have dealt a blow to key Skunk Works programs, including the joint strike fighter and X-33 prototype for a reusable space vehicle. The plant employs about 5,500 people, including 1,840 represented by the machinists union.

Union members, who range from clerks to skilled technicians, were initially prepared to strike Friday at midnight, but called off the action earlier in the day when the head of the federal mediating service stepped in and pushed for another round of talks.

Lockheed spokesman Gary Grigg said the company is pleased with the results of Tuesday night's vote.

``We believe the agreement is fair and equitable for employees and should help keep the company competitive in the markets we serve,'' he said.

In Marietta, Ga., union local president Wayne Myrick declined to provide exact vote totals, but said Tuesday's turnout was strong. Of those who voted, 59 percent accepted the company's terms, he said.

More than 4,200 workers, representing a range of employees including clerical, firefighters and aircraft mechanics, began voting before dawn at the offices of Georgia's Local 709 of the International Association of Machinists.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems in Marietta, which is north of Atlanta, has 9,200 workers.

For both plants, the contract carries a 3 percent general wage increase across the board, plus 3 percent increases in March 2000 and March 2001, the first time in 18 years for such a sweeping increase, union officers said.

The contract also includes a 17.5 percent increase in pensions, from $40 to $47 per month, for every year of service and a $600 supplement to the cost-of-living formula.

According to union officials, other contract provisions include:

The right to take sick days in hourly increments and vacations in daily increments for machinists union members in Palmdale.

$2-an-hour premium pay for Palmdale workers operating more than one machine at a time.

Financial relief for Palmdale workers whose insurance carrier removed certain prescription drugs from its approved list.

Thirty-seven paid holidays over the three-year agreement.

In Georgia, Lockheed Martin withdrew demands to combine certain jobs and alter the scheduled workweek, union officials said, and the company agreed to maintain required training for employees.