Court allows CT AG to join Pratt fight

A federal judge has ruled state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal can join a union-led effort to bar Pratt & Whitney Co. from moving about 1,000 Connecticut jobs overseas, the AG says.

Blumenthal said the federal judge granted his office permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a union lawsuit seeking to block East Hartford-based Pratt's job transfer.

Blumenthal said in a statement today that he plans to file a brief in December to protect the state's "vital interest in preserving jobs.'' He argues that Pratt & Whitney failed to seriously consider a $100 million state incentive package and other options to avoid the layoffs. Pratt announced its job realignment in September.

"Pratt cannot conscionably defend its disregard of the state's offers and its job destruction," Blumenthal said.

District Lodge 26 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers also has asked the courts to force Pratt to honor its labor agreements and stop the layoffs.

Pratt, a division of United Technologies Corp. in Hartford, responded in a statement:

"We remain focused on the lawsuit and the upcoming trial. We believe the Court correctly ruled that the Attorney General is not allowed to participate in the case except for the filing of a brief. We will respond to the Attorney General's brief at the appropriate time in the case.''