RENTON, Wash. — Boeing Co.’s 33,000 aircraft machinists are sticking to their guns after rejecting a contract offer the company made to them last week.
It is estimated that Boeing could lose more than $100 million per day of the strike.
Boeing announced Wednesday that it is temporarily laying off executives, managers and other employees.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg issued a statement that said in part: “While this is a difficult decision that affects everyone, it is part of an effort to preserve our long-term future and help us navigate this extremely challenging time.”
IAM President Brian Bryant spent the day visiting members on the picket lines and had this to say about the furloughs.
“I see this as a bluff,” Bryant said. “Boeing is trying to look like they’re trying to cut costs when what they really should be doing is resolving this strike and they know how to resolve it.”
Negotiations with a mediator are now continuing.
“We’ve lost health care, we’ve lost our pensions and our wages have been stagnant for a decade now, so it’s time to try to recoup some of those losses,” said Ted Pitts, a Boeing machinist.
The workers are demanding a 40% pay raise, and many said they were angry at Boeing’s initial offer of a 25% pay raise, which was pushed by union leaders.
“There is 100 percent solidarity and support for the union’s bargaining committee here,” Bryant said. “We have attacked almost every picket line from Everett to Auburn, and our members stand behind their bargaining committee.”
KIRO 7 also reached out to the Professional Engineering Employees of Aerospace Association (SPEEA), the union that represents about 17,000 local Boeing workers.
The SPEEA union said Boeing had not told them that its members would need to take furloughs, adding that the union contract did not allow them to do so.
Ortberg sent the following message to all employees on Wednesday morning.
“a team,
“As you know, IAM 751 and W24 went on strike last Friday. We remain committed to resetting our relationship with our represented employees and continuing discussions with the union to reach a new agreement that benefits all of our teammates and our company as soon as possible.
“However, with production halted on several key programs in the Pacific Northwest, our business faces significant challenges and it is important that we take tough steps to preserve cash and ensure Boeing’s ability to successfully recover.
“As part of this effort, we are beginning temporary furloughs in the coming days that will impact a significant number of our U.S.-based executives, managers, and employees. All benefits will continue for affected employees, and to minimize the impact on you, we are planning for select employees to take one week off every four weeks on an ongoing basis for the duration of the strike. Your leaders will reach out today to share more details about the specific approach for your team.
“In addition to these steps, my leadership team and I will take a proportionate pay cut for the duration of the strike.
“Most importantly, we will not take any actions that would impede our ability to fully recover in the future. We will prioritize all activities critical to our safety, quality, customer support and key certification programs, including 787 production.
“While this decision is difficult and impacts everyone, it is part of our efforts to safeguard our long-term future and help us get through these very difficult times. We will continue to communicate transparently as this dynamic situation evolves and will do our best to mitigate these difficulties.”
Restore confidence
Kelly
This is the first strike for Boeing since 2008.
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