Boeing - SPEEA Workers Ready to Vote On Union Membership.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 17, 1999--

The Boeing human resources department this week held the last of its "union avoidance" meetings for Facility Engineers and Safety Health & Environmental Affairs (SHEA) workers.

The meetings were aimed at stemming union growth at Boeing. Facilities and SHEA engineers, who will soon vote on whether to join the Seattle Professional Engineering Employees Association (SPEEA), were told it was "highly desirable" for them to attend the meetings.

Ballots will be mailed to 456 engineers today, Thursday (June 17). Engineers will vote on whether or not to join SPEEA, Boeing's second largest labor union. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) must receive ballots by noon, July 8 for counting.

More than 60 percent of the engineers have already signed cards requesting union representation. Boeing challenged that request in an attempt to limit or stop the vote. The challenge resulted in the longest representation hearing in the history of the NLRB. The NLRB ruled against Boeing on May 5.

Union officials are optimistic SPEEA will win at the ballot box.

"We don't just want to get a yes vote. We want to win big," said Charles H. Bofferding, executive director of SPEEA. "The tactics Boeing human resources has used in their campaign have not been straight. We need to send them a message that employees deserve to be listened to and treated fairly."

SPEEA officials have been critical of the Boeing human resources department for hiring an Ohio law firm known for union busting, holding mandatory employee meetings to deliver anti-union messages and distributing anti-union flyers.

"The company is not working with employees. That's a mistake," Bofferding said.

Union officials are anxious to put the dispute behind them and start working with Boeing administration on ways to solve the problems facing the aerospace giant. The primary problem is how to keep people employed so they can help Boeing succeed and at the same time care for their own families.

"No one is more concerned about the long-term health of the Boeing Company than the people who work there," Bofferding said. "We believe the way to solve problems is to be honest and work together. Employees built the best aerospace company in the world. They can solve the other problems."

The vote over union representation comes as Boeing continues to cut its workforce and prepare to negotiate new collective bargaining agreements with SPEEA and its largest union, the International Association of Machinists (IAM). Both organizations negotiate new contracts with the aerospace giant this year.

SPEEA represents more than 25,000 Boeing Company employees. Members include more than 14,000 engineers and 11,000 technical and professional employees. Members work in six states, including Washington, California, Kansas, Oregon, Texas and Utah. Organized in 1944, SPEEA is the largest independent professional labor union in the United States.