Transcontinental? You bet. Fly 'em in, the bar is on the corner on Hempstead Turnpike, time to drink and talk and may be even bet a few horses?
Vote on New Boeing Contract Highlights a Rift in the Machinists’ Union
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
After Boeing’s workers in Washington State voted down an eight-year
contract extension in November, Boeing wasted little time in soliciting
offers from other states to build its new 777X aircraft.
Within weeks, 22 states made proposals to Boeing, with some offering
billions of dollars in subsidies to lure a project that would mean
thousands of jobs and the prestige of having such a prominent
manufacturer.
All this so alarmed the leaders of the main union representing Boeing
workers, the International Association of Machinists, that its president
has brushed aside the objections of the local union and ordered a new vote — scheduled for Friday — on a slightly revised version of the contract.
The dispute highlights a rift within the union, one that reflects the
varying priorities of its leadership. Union officials in Washington
State want to preserve gains hard won from a company that has surging
profits and record plane orders. But the international leadership sees a
different threat — the possibility of losing a large manufacturing
center and more than 10,000 union jobs to a right-to-work state where it
would be difficult to win representation. And that could mean a big
loss in dues — Boeing workers in the Puget Sound area paid $25.5 million
in dues to the international union in 2012.
Boeing has promised to put final assembly of the 777X in the Seattle
area, as well as fabrication of the aircraft’s wings, if the 31,000
Boeing machinists vote to approve the revised deal.
But that is by no means a sure thing. The president of the international
union, R. Thomas Buffenbarger, defied union leaders in the Puget Sound
area by ordering the new vote, and those leaders are urging Boeing
workers to once again vote down the extension, which calls for numerous
concessions.
In a message to Boeing workers
in the Puget Sound area, Thomas Wroblewski, president of Machinists
Union District Lodge 751, which is based there, said, “Because of the
massive takeaways, the union is adamantly recommending members reject
this offer.”
Mr. Wroblewski has asserted that the revised deal is not different
enough from the previous deal — which was rejected 67 percent to 33
percent — to warrant a new vote. District 751’s leaders oppose Boeing’s
demand that the machinists approve a deal that would freeze their
pensions in favor of less generous, riskier 401(k) plans. District 751’s
leaders also voice dismay that the deal would increase out-of-pocket
health spending and includes raises totaling just 4 percent over eight
years.
If the machinists reject the revised deal, Boeing will continue its
search on where to locate assembly of the 777X. The 777 is a long-range,
twin-aisle aircraft that carries about 365 passengers. The 777X, which
Boeing hopes to begin delivering by 2020, would be about one-fifth more
fuel-efficient and carry up to 400 passengers.
Washington State, where the 777 is assembled, has promised Boeing $8.7
billion in tax breaks through 2040 if it puts the final assembly of the
777X in the state.
Some workers resent being asked to approve a deal filled with
concessions at a time Boeing has record profits and a record backlog of
$400 billion in orders. And those objections have grown since Boeing’s
board decided two weeks ago to raise the company’s dividend about 50
percent and approve a $10 billion stock buyback.
“The optics of this are not good,” said Richard L. Aboulafia, an
aerospace analyst with the Teal Group in Fairfax Va. “Boeing couldn’t
have timed this any worse from a negotiating standpoint.”
Many Boeing workers complain that the parent union has scheduled the
vote for Friday, when many will still be on vacation for the holiday
season. Many machinists also say they are not being given enough time to
study and discuss the revised proposal — the new vote was announced
four days before Christmas.
Frank Larkin, communications director for the machinists’ parent union,
said it was vital to hold the vote soon. “The timing was driven largely
by Boeing’s attempt to announce in early January its plans for where it
will place assembly of the 777X.”
On Dec. 26, Mr. Buffenbarger, the international’s president, sent a letter to the 31,000 workers eligible to vote, praising the revised deal, without specifically urging a yes vote.
“The total value of the new improvements to the contract offer adds more
than $1 billion to the previous offer,” he wrote. “I believe this
represents a significant improvement worthy of the membership’s
consideration.”
Mr. Buffenbarger said the revised deal added a $5,000 one-time payment,
payable in January 2020, on top of the $10,000 bonus Boeing had
previously promised upon ratification. In the biggest revision, the new
proposal would preserve the current six-year “progression” it takes for
new workers to reach full pay. In the first deal, that would have taken
16 years.
A Seattle television station, KING-TV, reported
that Boeing sent a letter on Tuesday to all machinists preparing to
vote. The letter was written by Alan May, vice president for human
resources at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and said that a yes vote would
“secure jobs in the Puget Sound region for the next decade and beyond.”
On their website, District 751’s leaders have posted a detailed
explanation of what they say is wrong with the revised contract
extension, which would be added onto the contract that expires in 2016.
One objection is that the extension calls for a 1 percent raise every
other year during the eight-year extension.
“It’s a bridge too far; it’s asking too much from us,” said Wilson
Ferguson, president of the Local A unit of District 751. “The problem is
that it seems that our international union is complicit and working
with the company to push this thing through.”
District 751’s leaders say it makes business sense for Boeing to put
777X assembly in Washington State, largely because there is so much
manufacturing expertise and experience there. As a result, they see
little justification for far-reaching concessions.
“There’s an overwhelmingly strong argument for keeping this project in
Puget Sound,” Mr. Aboulafia said. “Boeing would have to be willing to
inflict a lot of damage to itself to leave.”
The Seattle Times obtained a copy of the request for proposals that
Boeing sent to other states. It said total investment to build the 777X
could reach $10 billion. District 751 officials note that the Puget
Sound area already has most of the needed facilities as well as trained
workers and a proven supplier network.
Mr. Ferguson asserted that W. James McNerney Jr., Boeing’s chief
executive, is so anti-union that he might decide to place 777X
production outside Washington State even though, in Mr. Ferguson’s view,
it would end up costing the company more and delaying production.
“I’d call it corporate suicide if Boeing moves this elsewhere,” Mr. Ferguson said.
Boeing officials have long been dismayed with the militancy of the Puget
Sound machinists; they have gone on strike against Boeing five times
since 1977.
Jake Rosenfeld, a labor relations specialist at the University of
Washington, said he admired District 751’s toughness, although he said
the fight to retain pensions had generally been lost across corporate
America.
“The international union will say the local is too dug in, too focused
on local issues,” he said. “The international will say we have a broader
perspective on these issues, ‘We fought our fight and this is the best
we could get here.’ ”
No comments:
Post a Comment