Once again, a union fight has raised standards for non-union workers too. Even as it’s laying off thousands of engineers and managers, Boeing gave a 9% wage increase and a $12,000 retention bonus to production employees at its non-union assembly plant in South Carolina. That bonus is identical to the return-to-work ratification bonus that 33,000 Machinists union members won in November after a 54-day strike. Boeing’s union machinists also won an immediate 13% raise, followed by others that will total 43.65% when compounded over the four-year term of their new contract.
In the weeks and months ahead, Machinists members will reach out to the South Carolina workers to talk about why they just got that raise and bonus, and why they may be still better off if they join the union, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) President Brian Bryant said in a Dec. 13 press statement.
Boeing announced Dec. 12 that it plans to invest $1 billion in infrastructure upgrades and create 500 new jobs over the next five years at its two plants in North Charleston, South Carolina. That’s where about 7,800 non-union workers assemble Boeing’s 787 “Dreamliner” aircraft. The South Carolina operations have lately been producing fewer than five planes per month, and the upgrades would enable them to increase to 10 per month by 2026.
