Machinists Open Contract Talks with Boeing

May 13, 2008 - With soaring profits and more orders for new aircraft than it can handle, the Boeing Company should be looking to its 27,000 Machinists with a combination of gratitude and partnership. Instead, Boeing used the opening round of contract negotiations to propose an end to the traditional pension plan for new hires.

“We are in the strongest bargaining position we have had in years,” said District 751 President Tom Wroblewski, following the formal exchange of contract proposals in Seattle, WA on May 9. “By any measure, Boeing is one of the most successful companies in the world, and our members are a huge part of that.”

Boeing has experienced a dramatic turnaround since the aerospace recession that crippled the industry in the wake of the September 11 attacks, with profits that exceeded 800 percent over the past five years. “Boeing has seen a 38 percent increase in profits in the first quarter of 2008 alone,” said Western Territory GVP Lee Pearson, “yet they propose cuts and higher costs to the very workforce that makes them successful.”

Additional takeaways proposed by Boeing include eliminating retiree medical coverage for new hires, modification of the COLA formula and eliminating Wichita from the bargaining unit. An earlier attempt by Boeing to carve Wichita from the bargaining unit led to a strike in 2005 that shut Boeing down for a month.

Despite the distance that separated the two sides on the first day of formal negotiations, IAM President Tom Buffenbarger expressed optimism that an agreement was possible. “We both want a successful conclusion to these negotiations,” said Buffenbarger. “It’s one reason we agreed to start talks a month earlier than previous negotiations to provide both sides more time to resolve the complex issues.” The current three-year contract expires September 4, 2008 at 12:01 a.m. Visit website

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