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The labor union that represents production and maintenance workers at Raytheon Missile Systems has seen a decline in membership for the fifth straight year.

Twenty-eight members left the International Association of Machinists Local 933 in 2007. The union's 10-week strike against Raytheon ended in January 2007.

The membership losses have slowed since 2003 when the union lost 10 percent of its membership, or 210 members. That year, members voted to strike, but the union and the company agreed on a last-hour contract that included some concessions.

The union has nine other contracts at industrial employers besides Raytheon, and that's where most of the losses come from, in the form of job cuts or attrition, said Jim Watson, the local's directing business representative.

Membership at Raytheon has increased with more organizing efforts, he said.

"It's been a challenge to work with Raytheon, but we've worked out some problems together," Watson said. Working at Raytheon gives members "one of the best-paying blue-collar jobs with benefits in Pima County," he said.

With around 1,700 members, Machinists Local 933 is one of the biggest industrial unions in the state and one of the oldest unions in Southern Arizona.