SEATTLE—Almost two-thirds—64%—of voting Boeing Machinists members rejected the monster aircraft maker’s second contract offer, IAM District 751 President Jon Holden announced after votes were cast and counted on October 23.
The key issue, again, for the 32,000 Machinists of Holden’s district in the Seattle-Puget Sound area and another 1200 workers in District W2 in Portland, Ore., was Boeing’s flat refusal to resume the traditional defined-benefit pension plan it froze more than a decade ago. Instead, its latest proposal sweetened company contributions to workers’ 401(K) accounts.
That didn’t fly with the workers, according to tweets posted when the contract proposal was unveiled four days before. Most were variations of “no.”
Biden administration Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su shuttled back and forth between bosses and the union to work out the deal. This proposed pact featured cumulative raises of 35% over four years–10% more than Boeing’s first contract offer—and a $7,000 ratification bonus.
This rejected pact also cut the workers’ share of health insurance premiums by almost 10% in its first year. The Machinists originally demanded a 40% pay raise over three years, not four, along with reviving the traditional pensions.
The two districts’ bargainers also grounded this rejected contract. They told members to read it carefully but didn’t issue a voting recommendation.
The rejection, the second in six weeks, means the Boeing strike, which has forced the firm into layoff announcements for white-collar non-union workers and to sell a troubled subsidiary, will continue.
The strike brought Boeing’s production of civilian aircraft to a halt, except for the 787 Dreamliner, manufactured in a non-union plant in North Charleston, S.C. Boeing specifically built that plant and put Dreamliner production there, a former firm CEO said, to get away from the Machinists.
“We prepared for years to bring this membership back to a position of power and leverage, and we are there tonight,” Holden said. “These negotiations, this strike, today’s vote–it’s a culmination of everything for many people, filled with emotions.
“This contract struggle began over 10 years ago when the company overreached and created a wound that may never heal for many members. I don’t have to tell you all how challenging it has been for our membership through the pandemic, the crashes, massive inflation, and the need to address the losses stemming from the 2014 contract.”
That pact was repeatedly extended and renewed under unusual rules governing Boeing’s relations with the Machinists. They mandate supermajority votes to approve contracts, and automatic imposition of the firm’s last offer if that failed.
This time, as in the first proposed pact, which lost more than nine out of every 10 votes, there was a supermajority against the contract.
“We have made tremendous gains in this agreement in many areas our members said were important to them. However, we have not achieved enough to meet our members’ demands.
“This membership will continue to stand on the line, picketing for the contract they deserve. There is much more to do, and we will work to get back to the bargaining table. Our members’ voices will be heard,” he concluded.
Boeing reported a multi-billion-dollar loss in its latest earnings report. New company CEO Kelly Ortberg said Boeing “would continue to burn through cash” next year. Even before the strike, a top federal safety official warned Ortberg, on the sidelines of a Senate hearing, that Boeing bosses had lost the trust of their workers.
There is one slight ray of hope. Holden and Brandon Bryant, president of IAM District W24, jointly said in a statement: “After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we’re hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly.”
We hope you appreciated this article. At People’s World, we believe news and information should be free and accessible to all, but we need your help. Our journalism is free of corporate influence and paywalls because we are totally reader-supported. Only you, our readers and supporters, make this possible. If you enjoy reading People’s World and the stories we bring you, please support our work by donating or becoming a monthly sustainer today. Thank you!
CONTRIBUTOR
Comments