St. Louis Military Contractor News
War-Zone Contractors Draw Senate Scrutiny
By AUGUST COLE
2/25/2010
The Wall Street Journal
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday called for stricter oversight of what they described as "reckless" government contractors operating in war zones including Afghanistan, and assailed the way big defense companies use smaller firms to perform high-risk work.
A Senate Armed Services Committee investigation into the oversight of military contractors in Afghanistan is looking into Raytheon Co.'s use of a Blackwater Worldwide affiliate, named Paravant LLC, to train Afghan forces. Paravant was set up in 2008 to provide training personnel because Raytheon, which makes everything from Patriot missiles to cyberwarfare systems, doesn't have employees skilled to do this work.
Blackwater's parent company renamed itself Xe Services LLC early last year and has instated new senior and midlevel management.The rebranding, the company says, was an effort to distance the firm from a 2007 shooting incident in Baghdad involving Blackwater guards, in which at least 34 Iraqi civilians were killed or injured.
Xe's chief sales officer, Fred Roitz, told lawmakers at the hearing that Raytheon asked Blackwater to come up with a new name, other than Blackwater, for the firm that would handle the subcontract.
Brian McCracken, a former Paravant supervisor now employed by Raytheon to oversee the training work in Afghanistan, told Senate investigators that Paravant was created to avoid the "baggage" of the Blackwater name. He testified on behalf of Raytheon at the hearing.
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Soldier’s Electrocution in Iraq Was Negligent Homicide, Army Concludes
Not only is KBR picking our pockets, but they're not even performing the job that we're overpaying them to perform. Shameful.
January 23, 2009
NY Times
By JAMES RISEN
WASHINGTON — Army investigators have concluded that a Green Beret electrocuted in a shower in his barracks in Iraq was the victim of negligent homicide in a case involving the largest American contractor in Iraq, according to a written statement from one investigator.
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Machinists accept GKN contract offer
St. Louis Business Journal
January 19, 2009
Machinists employed at GKN Aerospace in Hazelwood voted Sunday to accept the company’s latest contract offer.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837, which represents 966 local workers, had rejected an earlier labor agreement this month, arguing that it skimped on overtime, retirement benefits and medical plans.
After the union voted to authorize a strike, GKN, which builds parts for Boeing, Lockheed Martin and other aerospace manufacturers, agreed to increase pension benefits, remove proposed changes in overtime and preserve other benefits, the union said.
GKN Aerospace Aerostructures, the largest site of England-based GKN plc’s global Aerospace division, is based in Hazelwood in St. Louis County and was acquired from Boeing for $61 million in 2001.
A New Strike in St Louis
The strike wont begin immediately, but it will be interesting to see how this affects the St Louis community, particularly Boeing, with whom GKN does a great deal of subcontracting work for and who recently laid off 4,500 employees in the Washington State area.
A strike in a recession is certainly a gamble, but just because times are bad doesn’t mean that workers should forfeit their right to collectively seek out better contracts.
Stay tuned. This could get interesting.
Machinists reject GKN contract
St. Louis Business Journal
1/12/2009
Machinists employed at GKN Aerospace in Hazelwood voted Sunday to reject the company’s latest contract offer and authorize a strike.
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LaBarge profit climbs 46%
As the article says, dispite hard economic times, thanks to strong defense sales, LaBarge is still experiencing growth. Moral of the story: in the face of recession, you can count on funeral, alcohol, and defense sales to stay strong.
St. Louis Business Journal
10/30/2008
LaBarge posted a 46 percent increase in profit in the first quarter due to higher shipments.
LaBarge made $3.7 million, or 23 cents per share, in the first quarter, up 46 percent from $2.5 million, or 16 cents per share, a year ago.
Net sales grew 15 percent to $68 million in the first quarter, compared to $59 million a year earlier.
Shipments to defense customers comprised the largest portion of fiscal 2009 first-quarter net sales at 45 percent, compared with 39 percent in the fiscal 2008 first quarter.
Still, the company said it is starting to see weakness in its industrial market and mining sectors.
“Despite weakening general economic conditions during the period, we achieved double-digit, year-over-year growth in first-quarter sales and earnings and attained our highest quarterly gross margin in two years,” said Craig LaBarge, chief executive and president, in a statement. “Looking forward, we anticipate that fiscal 2009 second-quarter sales and earnings will be comparable to this year’s first-quarter results. Given today’s uncertain economic environment, we are closely monitoring business activity across key market sectors. We are just beginning to see some weakness within the industrial market sector and the mining segment of the natural resources sector. We still believe that in the long term our diverse market approach will serve us well.”
Boom times likely to fade for defense industry
Hopefully this article is accurate and superfluous military spending is on its way out. But it is important to consider those working within the defense industry, especially blue collar workers. Let us hope that companies devoted to military contracts find ways to diversify and convert their weapons tools into ploughshares so that their employees can still find good paying and stimulating work to perform.
By Stephen Manning
In the St Louis Post Dispatch
10/15/2008
WASHINGTON — There are few industries whose fortunes are so closely tied to government as defense contractors, companies that now provide the military with everything from fighter jets to janitors. And for the last eight years, business has been very good.
But with that government customer now ailing, the boom times are likely to end.
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Scott Air Force base as a public jobs program?
”critical step to maintaining… the 1,100 jobs.”
This is military Keynesianism in action.
If we’re going to throw money into jobs programs in this nation, let’s throw it into our infrastructure! Scott Air Force Base is, indeed, one of the largest employers in the St Louis Metro area, but the base isn’t there as a work program for the region, it’s there, in theory, to support defense missions. Special interests, including threatening job losses, should not be present in our defense strategies.
Scott Air Force Base to build intel center, get new aircraft
St. Louis Business Journal
10/13/08
More updates are in store for Scott Air Force Base.
The Defense Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2009 includes $88 million for a new C-40 to repace the C-9 aircraft, said Rep. Jerry Costello.
“The addition of the new plane is a critical step to maintaining the flying mission and the 1,100 jobs of the 932nd Airlift Wing beyond 2011,” he said.
The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2009 includes $13.99 million to build a new Joint Intelligence Operations Center at Scott, he said.