Machinists, Boeing open contract talks

Formal negotiations between the Machinists Union and Boeing Company opened May 9 for more than 26,000 employees in the Seattle area, Portland, Oregon, and Wichita, Kansas.

The contract opener was held a month earlier than previous negotiations in an attempt to provide both sides more time to resolve several complex issues that they face. The current 36-month labor agreement expires at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 4.

“We are cautiously optimistic as we enter this round of bargaining,” said IAM District 751 President Tom Wroblewski. “We are in the strongest bargaining position we have had in years. By any measure, Boeing is one of the most successful companies in the world — sales, profits, backlogs — and our members are a huge part of that.”

Wroblewski said it hasn’t been easy for members during the last two rounds of contract bargaining. “After the 9/11 attacks, our members had to face a company determined to take away hard-fought benefits and contractual rights,” he said.

The Machinists motto this year is: “IT’S OUR TIME THIS TIME!”

Wroblewski said Boeing has rebounded and is experiencing tremendous profits, which have increased 828 percent over the past five years.

In a press release, Boeing outlined the proposal it delivered to the Machinists Union. The list included a performance-based incentive pay plan in lieu of wage increases for top-paid employees; a separate contract for IAM-represented employees in Wichita; a contract longer than three years; establishing a new retirement program and discontinuing early-retiree medical coverage for new hires; and exploring ways to increase health care costs paid by employees.

Boeing said it also proposed to maintain much of the existing contract without changes, including more than 150 articles, sub-sections and letters of understanding.

“Their negotiation strategy of posturing to take away hard-fought benefits is as flawed as their 787 production model,” Wroblewski said, noting that Boeing parted out the 787 because they wanted to save a buck, but wound up having to buy out suppliers and pay late delivery penalties that cost them billions.