SYRACUSE, N.Y. Union accepts contract as company announces layoffs

Carrier moves manufacturing work from New York to Asia and Georgia.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Union members grudgingly approved an agreement Sunday with Carrier Corp., a month after the air-conditioning manufacturer announced it would close two factories here and lay off 1,200 workers.
The 1,340 members of Local 527 of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association met to discuss the contract before voting on it.
Richard V. Simone, the union's business manager, would not reveal the vote total, saying only that the required majority voted in favor. The previous agreement expired at midnight Sunday.
Carrier and Local 527 had just begun negotiating a new contract when the company announced Oct. 6 that it was closing two factories and moving the work to Asia and Georgia.
Union and company negotiators bargained throughout the week on the severance package for those who will lose their jobs. They also worked on a new contract for the 300 left behind who work in two warehouses.
Specifications
Carrier, a unit of Hartford, Conn.-based United Technologies Corp., offered a $3,000 signing bonus and wage increases in what for many workers will be their final contract with the company. The contract contains wage increases of 6.5 percent over the life of the three-year agreement for those not laid off when manufacturing ends.
Carrier agreed to pay severance of two weeks' pay for each full year of service and to pay relocation expenses of up to $1,000 for workers who move more than 100 miles from Syracuse to accept other permanent employment.