About 285 Leonardo DRS workers remain affected by an employer lockout entering its fourth week. With the local facility closed on Fridays, picketing union members plan to maintain their presence as negotiations continue.
The lockout occurred after union members rejected a contract proposal from Leonardo DRS. In a statement emailed to the Quill, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) representatives stated the proposal excluded what union representatives called fair wage increases and included “forced unsustainable increases in healthcare costs.”
IAM Director of Rapid Response and Mobilization DeLane Adams emphasized the action was a lockout initiated by Leonardo DRS. He noted that workers were sent home with pay before their contract expired and were subsequently barred from returning when the lockout officially took effect at noon May 1. Adams added that such an action by an employer is unusual.
A lockout is a temporary work stoppage initiated by an employer during a labor dispute. Under the National Labor Relations Act, a lockout cannot legally be used to avoid bargaining in good faith, and contract negotiations between the two parties remain ongoing. In a separate vote, IAM Local 2782 members previously authorized a strike if an agreement cannot be reached.
“Leonardo DRS builds its reputation and its profits on the backs of IAM skilled workers in West Plains,” IAM International President Brian Bryant said. “These are the men and women who manufacture the fire support systems, battlefield surveillance equipment, fuel and water distribution systems and force protection technologies that our troops depend on in the field. While Leonardo DRS tells the Pentagon it’s committed to supporting America’s warfighters, it’s locking out the very workers who make that commitment real.”
Union representatives noted that in 2025, former Leonardo DRS CEO William J. Lynn III received $8.25 million in total compensation. IAM officials stated that figure is 172 times higher than the average earnings of the workers who manufacture the defensive and weapon systems. Lynn has since retired from the company.
“The workers of IAM Local 2782 have given everything to this company and to the mission those products serve,” IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Sam Cicinelli said. “They wake up every day knowing that the systems they build keep soldiers alive. And what does Leonardo DRS give them in return? A lockout.”
Both Bryant and Cicinelli have called on Leonardo DRS leadership to immediately end the work stoppage, resume good-faith negotiations and finalize a fair agreement.
When contacted by the Quill on Thursday morning, a representative at the local Leonardo DRS facility stated that any official media statements regarding the negotiations must come from corporate headquarters. No corporate statement had been issued as of press time.
