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Aerospace Blog


 
 

Boeing-Machinists talks – a SPEEA scare tactic?


Posted at 8:09 am by Michelle Dunlop

After Boeing and its Machinists union broke off contract talks again yesterday, Herald readers have sent in some interesting comments on the negotiations, including at least one intriguing conspiracy theory.

Here’s one reader’s take:

..it’s a scare tactic to tell SPEEA look what we are doing to the IAM you want that to? if SPEEA gets scared they will accept whatever Boeing offers. …

if this works for Boeing that will be the beginning of the end of the IAM,,,,, will the rank and file stay out???? will SPEEA join us?? Not sure But you can bet I will not go back to that old contract offer.


Boeing and SPEEA will launch into serious contract talks later this month regardless of whether the Machinists' strike is still going.

Earlier this year, we polled readers about potential union strikes. Then, about 18 percent of respondents had hopes that Boeing would avert a work stoppage by reaching deals with both its Machinists and engineering unions. But 41 percent of readers thought both the Machinists and SPEEA would strike. Thirty-eight percent said only the Machinists would walk, while 3 percent had thought only SPEEA would strike.

A lot has changed in the past few months – both in the financial markets and with Boeing negotiations.

How do you think Boeing’s contract talks with the Machinists will impact negotiations with SPEEA? Is Boeing trying to send a message to SPEEA via the Machinists (i.e.: Boeing’s not willing to negotiate on outsourcing)?
READER COMMENTS
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(No heading)
Mr. Dennis,

How long will this country last when decent paying jobs are gone, unions are defunct and corporate CEOs are able to treat their employees like indentured servants again?

While Boeing decides to cheapen labor and outsource more jobs, the rest of America is focusing on the fact that our education system is so abysmal that they need to import at least a million more foreigners to take jobs in the medical, legal, accounting, tech and management sectors...where does that leave the rest of us?

You can have all the education in the world, but there still won't be enough jobs to support everyone. Someone has to be willing to do the labor that keeps this country in balance w/ the rest of the world in manufacturing. We cannot and should not become dependent on other nations for the bulk of our goods as we are quickly becoming. We need domestic sustainability...and watching a company like Boeing cheapen and cheapen and cheapen will eventually affect its bottom line...when planes cannot be assembled correctly and accidents and defects rise...

CC At the Big B | Oct 19, 2008 5:33 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal
iam/boeing talks
Once again I can not be silent. The union is fighting for the middles class? Lets talk real. the Union is fighting for unrealistic job sercurity for it's members. In the long run it is hurting the middle class by staying out without talking and trying to solve this problem. The jobs market is moving to places that either don't have a union or have leaders that work with the company better. I realize you can not always agree, but you have to always talk. I do not believe if the Union wanted to reach a compromise that they could not be talking right now. I think overuse of the walkout and unrealistic damands is hurting the middle class. It is running the jobs out of the country. If there was not as many work stoppages and unrealistic damands in Union shops, big business would not see an advantage to send as much work to places that don't walkout. The Union leadership seems to care more about their wants than the needs of the Union members that pay their wages and are right now suffering and loseing much more in the long run than they can gain by not resolving this and getting back to work. I am no longer in support of any leadership that just sit on it's rear and does not even get in there and talk with a attempt to make this work. each side must bend in certain areas. You can't change the way they do business, it is their business. The caring Boeing is gone for ever. Let's talk and resolve not set on our rear and insult each other. By the end of the week I will be sitting in the dark and not able to heat my home, while the people that can resolve this are enjoying heat and food and electicity, oh and not about to lose everything they have worked for, while they sit on their butts and do nothing.
Michael Dennis | Oct 16, 2008 7:45 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal
Cheap labor?
How is a janitor with no education getting paid $18, because he is in a union? Thats cheap? NO THATS UNION WAGE

How are 15 people standing around and looking when only 5-6 are working? Thats cheap? NO THATS UNION WORK

How is a 300lb guy who can't utilize any of the ladders because of his weight standing around and carrying tools to people for $22 and hour? Thats cheap? NO THATS OUR GREAT UNION WORK.

Jonbo Nic | Oct 15, 2008 1:00 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal
You Betcha !!!
Scare tactic? That ain't the half of it!

They have actually scared the SPEEA group so much, there is talk that they will agree to a contract extension so both groups are not out at the same time.

There needs to be some serious consideration by Boeing shareholders at what this "new breed" of management has done to a nearly century old company and what it is doing to our region. They will continue to cheapen labor to the point of servitude, whil'st they pad their pockets w/ the obscene wages and bonuses they earn off our backs.

I work w/ some of the greatest people on the floor. Hard working, dedicated and yes, highly skilled in what they do. Decades of experience and skill that McNerney and Kight like to threaten. They are the ones making management mistakes, they are the ones spending millions on remodeling and high tower offices for the upper eschelon to look down upon the masses, they are the ones who are involved in ethics scandals and backroom deals...not the rank and file.

We are the ones who earn their pay, who get those beautiful birds out the doors and support our communities. We are the ones who raise thousands of dollars and collect thousands of pounds of food for our food banks, school supplies for our needy children and Christmas gifts for those who have none...out of our own pockets. We are the men and women whose taxes support our schools, roads, communities and those leaders who say they support us but suddenly seem conspicuously quiet during this fight.

Without decent paying jobs, this country will sink further into the depths of class division...we have earned the fruits of our labors and it's heartbreaking to watch our corporate leaders play this disgusting game of cat and mouse.

CC At the Big B | Oct 14, 2008 10:47 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal
Saddened to see corporate become so detached
You can scare people when, as an executive, getting guaranteed salaries, benefits & pension for life are there... They either have never had to really work or worked the buddy system and have never had compassion for others.
How can it be cheaper to go else where? I see supplier problems from within every day only to spend millions of dollars trying to prove they did it..... and who is keeping track of these costs? NO ONE.... We just put it in one bucket called overhead... There is little accountability for the suppliers....
Would love to see how exec's respond when their family members are put in these positions... and to top it off, how does this help America? without a union there is no balance.... we the people are a union and should work together... My wife works for a non union company in this state and she gets treated like dirt.. They have threatened to fire her for taking off work (due to sick kids) even though she has tons of time to take and been there 20 yrs with perfect attendance.
We now are fighting a 2 tiered system.... rich and powerful versus poor and helpless....money talks in every way now in America..... lobbying is legal?.... if I even get a trinket from an outside company I am questioned.... They get money or payoffs of some nature and NO big deal..... HMMMM something wrong here.....
I feel sorry for the exec's... what a legacy to leave behind......We know the exec's don't like unions because they have a history of it... and they don't have the CONTROL they want.... I say THEY ARE SCARED. Control is a fear from within.. a desire to control the outcome...
The old proverb of look at the plank in your own eye before you look at the speck in others seems to have gone away... As well as love others as yourself.... Or treat the poor man & the rich man equally ..... Oh yeah I am a 2nd generation employee too... we total almost 68 years... he told me its not how much you make its how you make it work for you and sacrifice for others.... He retired over 25 yrs ago..... and his legacy lives on...integrity, morality, honesty and sacrificial.....and all done as a blue collar worker.... he always gave the Glory to God..... he was very humble.....

T M | Oct 14, 2008 8:58 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal
Boeing Strike
Is Boeing trying to scare its employees. Yes!! Will it work? Probably.
My better half has been a union member most of his working life. It has improved his wages and for many years benefits also. This all changed when Boeing sold out to McDonnell Douglas. Since then I have watched the company go down hill in every way. I have watched someone who had lots of pride in what they did grow to hate their job and only hang on to it for the betterment of his family and his community. Boeing workers (all of them) pump loads of cash into our community, tax base etc.
Boeing needs to think about what happens if the strike goes to long. How many employees are going to come back? They have trouble now getting people to train for free and their knowledge pool is aging fast. I dont' know anyone on the stree that can do what my husband does. School don't teach the skills anymore they are all college prep.
I strongly suggest that each and evey Boeing employee (not just the machinist) prepare for Boeing leaving the US. They aren't an American company anymore and they don't deserve any tax credits or aide or government contracts.
Maybe Airbus won't be such a bad idea for Washington. One of Airbus's purposes is to create jobs that support families. We have the best trained workforce for them, waiting and willing to work for a class act company. Too Bad there isn't one in the Pacific northwest that builds airplanes.

Valerie Anderson | Oct 14, 2008 4:09 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal
boeing strike
I have been an IAM member for 18 years. While I supported the strike, that support is getting weaker with everyday. I do think the union has to be realistic. Do they really think they are going to get Boeing to add langage to not allow them to move jobs out. Look around that is the way of the GLOBAL ECONOMY. I would like to protect all jobs, but that is not realistic. The negoitaters need to go back to the table and get what they can so we can all go back to work. The truth is Boeing does not and will not ever care about the Union. This is not your father's Boeing, it is dead and gone. Hoping for a caring company and holding out for job protection only adds fuel to the fire Boeing already has to move jobs to places that don't strike every contract. Another truth is it makes Boeing look like the good guy when they move jobs just to keep the work flowing. By staying out the union is not only hurting themselves but all the other people that make a living proividing services to Boeing and IAM members alike. The last truth is whatever happens in this strike makes no differance in the road that big buiness is taking to find cheaper labor, it only confirms how difficult it is to deal with a Union shop. our leadership needs to work with the company and get back to the table, NOW before the workers lose far more then they will ever gain by staying out. Listen Union leaders we know it is hard and we are still behind you but not for long if you don't get in there and really try, key words GET BACK IN THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Michael Dennis | Oct 14, 2008 2:00 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal
CARSON AND KIGHT - UNION BUSTING IN PLAY
http://tinyurl.com/4xrxpt


Q&A: RAY GOFORTH
SPEEA union chief at Boeing readies for fight
JOHN GILLIE; john.gil-----newstribune.com
Published: March 17th, 2008 01:00 AM | Updated: March 17th, 2008 05:50 AM


What happened when you met with Boeing’s Carson and Kight?

Mr. Carson explained that he wanted to get rid of all unions at Boeing and that he intended to continue to support the efforts to bust the bargaining units where they could. It was disappointing. I appreciated the candor. It did supply some clarity on these problems. I went into this hoping that we could partner to solve these problems, but the answer was “no.”


SEE any connection ??

http://www.nobusters.org/

D S | Oct 14, 2008 10:09 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal
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