I'm on strike from Boeing.... Again!

[*]

I have gone through 3 strikes in 17 years and damn near a 4th one on the last contract. I don't know if the Company has better negotiators than the Union does, but I do know that our Union better get off it's butt's so I don't have to sit on mine and strike. The percentage that I strike is far too high for me. 

[HalfastAMX]

Im glad my pops got out of there after 42 years of service as an electronics maintenance employee at Paine Field. My F/in law still works (strikes) there as an overhead crane operator and hes telling me you guys are getting the shaft on this contract (again) especially medical benefeits. Now i hear there are little rat-bastards stepping in for lower wages, no medical , and no retirement. It looks to me as if Boeing is going to go the way of Wal-Mart, and get the state(TAXPAYERS) to provide medical coverage via Medicaid. I supported the guys/gals on the picket line up here in Frederickson as i drove by. Geez, sure am glad i never went to work for those asses. Now if i get laid off, i can look forward to a very meager unemployment benefeit thanks to Boeing and the bilkers that had worked there.

Best of luck...........

[RECHRGD]

493, That sucks!   A few years back Kaiser, over here in Spokane, finally got so tired of the strikes and never ending demands that they just shut down the plant.   Many of those people were unable to get replacement jobs anywhere near what they were used to making.   They had no marketable skills other than whatever job they had been doing in the aluminum plant for decades.   I manage projects for a large union electrical contractor over here.   In 1990 union electricians performed 65% of the commercial/industrial work in this local.   We now have less than 10% of the work and the union still demands more.   They can't seem to get away from that old school intimadation mentality and work with the contractors to achieve labor rate and benefit packages that will allow us to be competitive. We've had to lay-off guys that have been with the company for over 25 years.  It's a sad situation. Several years back, we employed over 500 Electricians and we now have only around 30 or so and my job is also in jepardy. Once the Union contractors can no longer compete in the marketplace, how much will all those great wages and benefits be worth.   I feel sorry for the young guys being lured into the unionized trades with all the promises of great wages and benefits.   It's not the 1950's anymore.   The unions have and still do provide for great wages and benefits for most of their workers, but sadly, we are now having to deal in a global economy that dosen't support the traditionally high union wages for factory type positions.   I hope you don't have to go on strike just because Boeing was able to get a bunch of orders from China and the union now wants to strike them when they're at they're most vulnerable.   It takes a long time to recover from any kind of prolonged strike (if ever).    I would hate to see Boeing go to a third world country to build their product and leave Seattle in a chaotic economic situation.  As far as I know, it's still not economically feasable to prefab (and wire) buildings in another country and ship them here, but who knows what the future will bring.  Good Luck,   Bob

[Vainglory, Esq.]

I'm not going to take sides either way, since I'm not in on the ground floor in the situation, but I have to agree with RECHRGD that the unions really do need to update their tactics if they want to remain viable, or even in existence, in the new century.

[41husk]

lgkuda works for Boing here in StLouis, I sure hope they don't strike.

[*]

I hate to be the one tell you guys, but....... the 878 will almost totally be made from non Boeing workers. We have already given other countries parts to build for the 737,747,767 and 777 so it's not like this will happen because of this strike, it has already happened and thats what we were fighting over in our last several contracts but lost.
Had we not fought I am sure that out sourcing would of happened years earlier.

I blame this on a strong Company and a weak Union.

[RECHRGD]

I hate to be the one tell you guys, but....... the 878 will almost totally be made from non Boeing workers. We have already given other countries parts to build for the 737,747,767 and 777 so it's not like this will happen because of this strike, it has already happened and thats what we were fighting over in our last several contracts but lost.
Had we not fought I am sure that out sourcing would of happened years earlier.

I blame this on a strong Company and a weak Union.

WRONG!!!  Blame this on an unyielding union that soon may no longer exist.  Look at the big picture!

[69DodgeCharger]

"I'm not going to take sides either way, since I'm not in on the ground floor in the situation, but I have to agree with RECHRGD that the unions really do need to update their tactics if they want to remain viable, or even in existence, in the new century."







Reality.....sometimes it isn't what you want to see or hear......You didn't tell us which way you voted, although I have an idea. Good luck with that plan.

[derailed]

I hate to be the one tell you guys, but....... the 878 will almost totally be made from non Boeing workers. We have already given other countries parts to build for the 737,747,767 and 777 so it's not like this will happen because of this strike, it has already happened and thats what we were fighting over in our last several contracts but lost.
Had we not fought I am sure that out sourcing would of happened years earlier.

I blame this on a strong Company and a weak Union.

I couldnt agree more, our unions are becoming weak. I see it on the railroad as well but not as bad as what your going through. But without them we would be working at Sam Waltons wages. Good luck brother.

[CFMopar]

I'm personally not a fan of unions. They could be usefull but I find they get to greedy for their own good.

The big 3 are in talks up here and more than likely Chrysler will strike....

[derailed]

Unions tend to come off looking greedy sometimes when they are in negotiations with the company but thats because they both usually shoot for the stars when negotiating a contract They are our last hope from keeping the big companies in this country from sticking it in the working man ball deep and working for beans. Sometimes they may get carried away but at least they still remind the company that they need us just as much as we need them. When it comes to labor you get what you pay for.

[HalfastAMX]

Just to toot my horn here, id like to say that the Pacific Northwest Council Ironworkers (of which i am a member) Have negotiated a new contract without going on strike. There are hundreds of jobs and a lot more on the books if you happen to be in the state or nearby. We have successfully Gained $5.00/ hr over the next 4 years, lost no medical/ dental/ retirement, and won a reimbursement upgrade for travel pay.
In the last 12 years, we have went from $19.00/ hr (Journeyman) to $32.00/hr. You can make even more as a foreman as i am and more yet as a Superintendant. I still worry we are going to price ourselves out of a job someday as the majority of the top producers make anywhere from$5.00/hr and up over the Journeyman scale. Why is the Boeing machinists Union such a bunch of PUSSIES? I dont know. Maybe if the employees "got after it" and actually did something around there, they wouldn't be in this position. Boeing doest owe you jobs, you owe it to yourself to keep one.
I have to explain it this way to the young guys just turning out.............. We are here to do the job BETTER, SAFER, AND FASTER than anyone else in the world can do it. Bring your A game every F@$&!^* DAY!

One good thing about this type of work is that the majority of workers are to much of a candy ass to work @500 feet, work in a monsoon, and work in snow/ice.

So as i used to tell my pops, "keep those Boeing gloves on and you're never going to get a blister" or anything done.............

[HalfastAMX]

When it comes to labor you get what you pay for.

Amen..........

[Badbob]

Thanks, Halfast, it is good to know that something is still built with pride in the USA!

[Steve P.]

493, I am sorry to hear of your troubles and hope it works out for you soon.. Let us know...

Thanks, Halfast, it is good to know that something is still built with pride in the USA!

Just last night I was talking with my cousin in Vegas and said, (one thing we can still be proud of is our old cars). We both plan to have lettering done for our cars that will say,

MADE IN THE USA...  It's not a bad idea for all of us to do..

[Goobzilla]

Good luck 493 Charger!

You guys gave up alot to keep that company afloat post 9/11, now they don't want to share now that business is back on track.  I just hope it's resolved quickly. 

Goob
IBEW

[MoparUSAF]

Forgive my ignorance, but what I can not understand is at least once a month an article will appear announcing that Boeing has signed a contract for X amount of planes for X airline. If Boeing is making all this money from the civilian sector (not to mention how much Uncle Sam is buying) why is the company so unwilling to share the winnings with the employees? What gives?

[ChargerRob]

493, I work for Boeing in Long Beach, CA and we are all looking at your contract offerings.    I hope your union sticks to its guns and get you guys a good contract. We wont be far behind you guys. Good Luck and keep the faith.

[70charginglizard]

Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on AFL-CIO Support for Boeing Machinists Strike
September 2, 2005 - The unions of the AFL-CIO are in full support of the strike at Boeing by members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. These 18,000 men and women are in a very real sense fighting a fight for all working families.
At a time when nearly 46 million Americans are without health insurance, Boeing tried to use scare tactics to shift nearly $1,000 per year in health care costs to every employee. And the company wants to jump on to national trends by eliminating health care for future retirees, outsourcing more mechanics’ jobs and shortchanging them on pension benefits.
It is outrageous that this profitable company refuses to meet the most basic needs of its workers, while awarding millions of dollars in unrestricted stock to its executives.America needs good jobs â€" not worse jobs â€" and the IAM machinists at Boeing are fighting for them. Despite being offered $9,000 cash bribes and up to 15 days per year of so-called “incentive” pay, the workers voted 86 percent to say “no” --- and all of organized labor is behind them 100 percent.

[Vainglory, Esq.]

Oh boy!  The AFL-CIO is actually supporting a strike!?  That's news!


Okay, I'll stop before I get ugly.

[Troy]

Forgive my ignorance, but what I can not understand is at least once a month an article will appear announcing that Boeing has signed a contract for X amount of planes for X airline. If Boeing is making all this money from the civilian sector (not to mention how much Uncle Sam is buying) why is the company so unwilling to share the winnings with the employees? What gives?

Just because you sign a contract does not mean you'll ever get paid. Those are "potential" orders and with fuel costs I bet many of those airlines later cancel the orders. Now, if Boeing is in the red and they get 5 firm orders I wouldn't qualify those as "winnings". I don't know the exact situation though so don't quote me on the numbers - just stating that what seems like a lot of money may not be.

EDIT: I found an example:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050907/bs_nm/airlines_delta_dc

Boeing isn't the only company trying to share the cost of health insurance. For a large company the extremely high premiums can put them out of business. Again, I don't know the terms of the deal but I pay my own health insurance and I'd be more than happy to find an employer who would pick up even a part of it.

Not saying Boeing is right or wrong - just that there are a lot of factors involved. It sucks either way.

Troy

[HalfastAMX]

Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on AFL-CIO Support for Boeing Machinists Strike
September 2, 2005 - The unions of the AFL-CIO are in full support of the strike at Boeing by members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. These 18,000 men and women are in a very real sense fighting a fight for all working families.
At a time when nearly 46 million Americans are without health insurance, Boeing tried to use scare tactics to shift nearly $1,000 per year in health care costs to every employee. And the company wants to jump on to national trends by eliminating health care for future retirees, outsourcing more mechanics’ jobs and shortchanging them on pension benefits.
It is outrageous that this profitable company refuses to meet the most basic needs of its workers, while awarding millions of dollars in unrestricted stock to its executives.America needs good jobs â€" not worse jobs â€" and the IAM machinists at Boeing are fighting for them. Despite being offered $9,000 cash bribes and up to 15 days per year of so-called “incentive” pay, the workers voted 86 percent to say “no” --- and all of organized labor is behind them 100 percent.

....Can you sy "WAL-MART" ?..............Yeah, lets get them all on medicaid

Executives