Boeing talks come down to wire

More than 18,000 members of the Machinists Union are bracing for a strike at Boeing Co. At press time on Aug. 30, employees were preparing to look over the company’s “last, best and final” offer.

Employees voted on the contract Thursday, Sept. 1 at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham and at Machinists union halls in Everett, Seattle, Renton, Auburn and Tacoma.

Portland-based Machinists Lodge 63 represents approximately 900 workers at Boeing of Portland.

Boeing Machinists voted on whether or not to accept the final contract offer and whether or not to authorize a strike. Three years ago the contract was rejected, but the union failed to get a two-thirds majority vote to strike, so the contract was implemented.

Talks got off to a rocky start this year when Boeing — after tripling its profits since the last negotiations — came to the table demanding givebacks in medical benefits and offering meager pension benefits and virtually no job security provisions.

“The (initial) proposal was an insult to the people who returned Boeing to No. 1 status after several years of struggle,” said IAM Aerospace Coordinator Dick Schneider.

Negotiations have been going round the clock at the DoubleTree Hotel at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport since Aug. 15.

Unless Boeing substantially sweetened its contract proposal, Machinists Union members could be walking picket lines Friday morning, Sept. 2.

District Lodge 751 in Everett has a “negotiations barometer” on its Web site. As this issue went to press the red mark was at the “Strike Looming” category.

Union members have made pension benefit increases their top priority, followed by health care and job security.

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