Fear & Loading: Union Sues Colt’s Manufacturing

by
posted on April 5, 2018
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
colt_2.jpg

United Auto Workers Local 376 filed a lawsuit against Colt’s Manufacturing in federal court nearly a month ago, alleging the company has violated terms of its labor contract by moving work outside of the plant in cost-cutting efforts. The union has asked the court to stop the company’s practice of subcontracting bolts, barrels and other rifle components until arbitration and rescind the roughly 74 layoffs that took place Feb. 16, 2018.

The Hartford Courant is reporting that the $10 million loan Colt’s Manufacturing received from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development—so it could purchase its factory and headquarters in West Hartford, Conn., as we reported last year—is, “…tied to keeping 615 jobs.” Under terms of the agreement, according to the paper, if staffing falls below that figure the firm pays a $16,259 penalty for each position eliminated.

Colt’s Manufacturing and labor reached agreement just as it was emerging from Chapter 11 Restructuring in early 2016. “The takeaways are that Colt reduced its debt, has some capital to work with (something that the company has been starved for years, perhaps even decades), has a new lease on its physical plant and a new lease on life thanks to the deal with its union,” American Rifleman Editor-in-Chief Mark Keefe explained at the time.

The famed gunmaker had 506 employees in October 2016, according to Hartford Business, and was down to roughly 288 in March, 2018. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) “Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export Report” indicated the company produced 71,234 pistols, 943 revolvers and 117,263 rifles in 2016, the latest figures available. That’s also the year a record-setting number of NICS background checks were conducted by the FBI, a figure considered the best barometer of firearm sales nationwide. Gun buying moderated to a “new norm” in 2017, undeniably inopportune timing for Colt’s Manufacturing and its staff as it’s getting back on its feet.

Latest

Hearing Healthy
Hearing Healthy

Summer Suppressor Deals On Now

Whether it is a BOGO deal from SIG or free tax stamps from Guns.com and Silencer Central, there's plenty of hearing-safe savings to be had this summer.

Rifleman Report: Defending Freedom For 250 Years

"Anyone who claims not to understand the plain and simple intent of the Second Amendment—especially if that person happens to be a constitutional law professor, Supreme Court justice, congressman, senator or president—is likely hiding nefarious intent: to strip individual liberty from American citizens for the express purpose of making them susceptible to a tyrannical government."

Book Review: 2025 Traveler’s Guide To The Firearms Laws Of The Fifty States

Newly updated for 2025, the 29th edition of the Traveler’s Guide To The Firearm Laws Of The Fifty States is packed with all the need-to-know information for cross-country trekkers seeking to bring their arms along with them and remain legal in all localities.

Springfield Kuna: A PDW For The Masses

Small, yet fierce, the namesake of Springfield Armory’s latest large-format pistol is a revered forest dweller in the land of its Croatian manufacturing partner, HS Produkt. The new Kuna is poised to be just as welcome in America.

The Armed Citizen® June 30, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Book Review: Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers Of Elisha Collier & Artemas Wheeler

The result of a decade of research, Clockwork Basilisk is a comprehensive, two-volume history of the rare revolvers that preceded the development of the well-known Colt guns of the 1830s.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.