Remington Arms Company, LLC won a $79,717,783.28 federal contract from the U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., for precision sniper rifles.

Parker Waichman LLP, has filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the Remington Model 700 rifle is defective and can fire without a trigger pull. The class action lawsuit represents consumers in North Carolina and Washington who own the firearm. The suit was filed on January 29, 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle (Case2:13-cv-00172). Remington Arms Company, LLC., Sporting Goods Properties Inc. and E.I. Du Pont Nemours and Company have been named as Defendants. According to the Complaint, the Model 700 Rifle poses serious safety risks due to an allegedly defective trigger mechanism known as theWalker Fire Control. This patented design was introduced in 1948 andis found in over 5 million Remington brand firearms. Remington's Walker Fire Control uses a separate "trigger connector," an internal component that is not utilized by any other firearm's manufacturer. The trigger connector is not physically attached to the trigger in any fashion but, rather, is held in place by tension from a spring and sideplates, which creates a fully enclosed housing. When the trigger is pulled, the trigger body pushes the connector forward, causing the sear to fall and the rifle to fire. When this occurs, a gap is created between the trigger body and the trigger connector. Allegedly, this design allows various debris (including field debris, manufacturing scrap, burrs from the manufacturing process, lubrication and moisture) to build up within the gap while the trigger is being pulled. This buildup can restrict the return of the trigger to its original locationunder the sear, predisposing the rifle to malfunction in the absenceof a trigger pull, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit also alleges that there is no engineering reason to use a separate trigger connector that is not physically attached to thetrigger itself. The lawsuit points out that no other manufacturer utilizes such a design and a number of after-market manufacturers have created replacement triggers to replace the allegedly defective Walker Fire Control. According to the Complaint, Mr. Walker, designer of the Walker trigger mechanism, himself, confirmed in January 2011 that the extra connector serves no engineering purpose other than to reduce manufacturing costs and make operation of the trigger pull smoother.

Members of United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Local Union 717 ratified a new five-year agreement with Remington Arms Company, LLC that features significant improvements in wages and jurisdiction. The new pact includes a provision extending Local 717 jurisdiction to any new plant that Remington builds, as the company is presently considering, within a 100-mile radius of the main plant in Ilion, N.Y. In addition to a $500 signing bonus, the contract features 3% wage increases in each of the first four years, and 3.5% in the final year. It also maintains the current level of medical benefits, improves the language governing overtime and creates a new position, Utility Specialist, aimed at reducing the reassignment of regular workers.