Boeing engineers back to work

By Elizabeth Yates

SEATTLE - Boeing engineers and technicians ended their record-breaking 40-day strike March 19, when 70 percent of the membership voted to accept the company's third offer. The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) held the line on health benefits and won some increases in other areas.

Ambivalence, at first, turned to acceptance following area meetings Saturday and a full membership meeting Sunday. The white-collar union came out of this strike, the largest ever against a private corporation, recognized as a formidable force. It was their first, except for a one-day strike eight years ago.

"The next time you come to the bargaining table, there will be no doubt that you all will strike and inflict massive amounts of pain," said Paul Almeida, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.

The engineers won a guaranteed 3 percent salary increase for each of the three years of the contract. Technicians will receive 4 percent the first year and 3 percent each of the next two years.

A total of 8 percent more for engineers over the life of the contract and 4.5 for technicians will be available on a merit basis. Health benefits will continue as before. The previous offer had demanded increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles. Added is domestic partner benefits. Retirement payments will increase from $40 to $50 per year of service.

A big bone of contention was the signing bonus. In their last contract, the Machinists union won a 10 percent lump sum bonus (average $4,400). SPEEA members will receive $1,000 after 30 days, with $500 more after delivery of 225 planes and $1,000 after delivery of 491 planes by March 1, 2001.

This bonus was tied to the issue of respect. Professional workers felt that the earlier offers with no bonus simply confirmed the lack of respect shown toward the workers, and their families, in the company's single-minded drive for profits.

"It's their concern for the bottom line, greed, that can destroy the company," one picket, told the World.

In an attempt to partially meet the demand for more respect, the company said, they agreed to set up Partnership Project Leadership Teams to "deal with specific issues, such as cost and quality of medical care, and improvements in efficiency, quality, or integration of company processes."

The danger here, of course, is that, like "quality circles" elsewhere, these could become another means of imposing management designs and diverting workers from working through their union. This will bear watching.

Overtime work has been somewhat tightened but still seems to leave room for management abuse. Any regular work schedule that includes Saturday or Sunday is voluntary. Technicans will receive time-and-a-half after eight hours in a day and double time after 12 hours overtime in a week. Professionals will receive 23 percent premium for a third shift.

An important plus is the agreement to hold an election for an agency shop. Management agrees to remain neutral. The vote is to occur in August and the outcome will be determined by a simple majority vote.

This last offer materialized after secret, late-night negotiations in Washington, D.C. March 16 and 17 between SPEEA Executive Director Charles Bofferding and top level Boeing negotiators, with Richard Barnes of the federal mediation services and Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO national secretary-treasurer.

The Machinists gave outstanding support to their fellow Boeing workers from the beginning, helping to train picket captains, sharing their facilities and contributing to the strike fund.

Hefty contributions also came from the other unions and the AFL-CIO donated $50,000 and promised another $25,000 a week for the duration of the strike.

Conditions within the plant were slowing to a standstill, including on military contracts. Some departments had already shut down. Efforts to "persuade" workers in other areas to come to Seattle "until the strike is over," even with strong financial incentives, bore minimal results. Likewise, Boeing was unsuccessful in getting retirees or strikers to come back.

Boeing stock had dropped 22 percent since the beginning of the strike.

At the beginning of the strike, less than half the engineers and technicians were union members. By the end of the strike, 64 percent were. SPEEA awarded Boeing the honor of "Best Recruiter of the Month."

"There was definitely a class division [before]," Martin Banel, a 21-year Boeing veteran, told the Seattle Times. "We are all workers now."

- Mason Taylor and B. J. Mangaoang also contributed to this story.