WEST PLAINS, Mo., May 19, 2026 — The IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) is blasting Leonardo DRS for bargaining in bad faith and is calling on the company to immediately end its lockout of more than 285 IAM Local 2782 (District 9) members in West Plains, Mo., and return to the table with a genuine commitment to reaching a fair contract.
IAM Local 2782 members, who build the military weapons and equipment that have protected American troops and allied forces for decades, were locked out on May 1, 2026, after rejecting a company proposal that failed to deliver fair wage increases and forced unsustainable increases in healthcare costs. They had also voted to authorize a strike if no fair agreement was reached.
“Leonardo DRS builds its reputation and its profits on the backs of IAM skilled workers in West Plains,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “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. That is not just hypocrisy, it is bad faith at the bargaining table, and it will not stand.”
Now-retired Leonardo DRS CEO, William J. Lynn III, took home $8.2 million in total compensation in 2025. Leonardo DRS pays its CEO 172 times more than the workers who manufacture the weapons systems and force protection technology that troops carry into combat.
“The workers of IAM Local 2782 have given everything to this company and to the mission those products serve,” said IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Sam Cicinelli. “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. No company that claims to support our military can justify locking out the workforce that builds its military products. End the lockout. Get back to the table. Do right by these workers.”
IAM Local 2782 members are not asking for the extraordinary. They are asking for wages that keep pace with the cost of living and health care they can actually afford. Leonardo DRS has the resources to provide both. The company’s choice to lock out these workers instead is a deliberate act of bad faith, and the IAM will not rest until every one of these workers is back at work under a contract they deserve.
Bryant and Cicinelli are calling on Leonardo DRS leadership to immediately end the lockout, resume good-faith negotiations, and reach a fair agreement without delay.
IAM Local 2782 members at Leonardo DRS’s West Plains facility manufacture a portfolio of critical U.S. Army systems, including fire support systems the Army has relied on since 1982; battlefield reconnaissance and surveillance platforms; heavy transport and mobility systems; fuel and water distribution equipment; and force protection technologies for armored vehicles.
The IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) is one of North America’s largest and most diverse industrial trade unions, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, shipbuilding, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries across the United States and Canada.
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