Boeing -- SPEEA: Union Looks for Sign of Cooperation.SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 1999-- As negotiations enter the second week, the union representing 23,000 engineers and technical workers at the Boeing Company continues to look for a sign of cooperation from the aerospace giant. "We are still not certain if the Boeing Company wants a true partnership with its employees," said Charles Bofferding, executive director of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) is a major Boeing engineering employee labor union. It is often known for its massive member base. External links
SPEEA Seattle Professional Engineering Employees Association ). "Time is getting short. This is the week that will determine if we have a partnership or something less." Union officials presented their proposals for compensation and pay increases to Boeing today (Monday, Nov. 1). The proposals include across the board salary increases, a bonus and an increase to the salary pool used to distribute merit raises. "What we are asking for is to bring our employees up to market level," Bofferding said. "In some cases that requires significant base wage increases." SPEEA negotiators remain optimistic that key Boeing officials are on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of realigning the company. They said realignment re·a·lign tr.v. re·a·ligned, re·a·lign·ing, re·a·ligns 1. To put back into proper order or alignment. 2. To make new groupings of or working arrangements between. is even more essential in the wake of recent sales losses to rival Airbus Industries. The European airline manufacturer has outsold out·sold v. Past tense and past participle of outsell. Boeing 2 to 1 this year. "The extensive focus on shareholders has neglected employees and customers," Bofferding said. "That's why employees are leaving the company and that's why airlines are buying from Airbus." Today's situation is almost a reverse of the late 1970s, said Steve Northcraft, a member of the union's professional bargaining unit A bargaining unit in labor relations is a group of employees with a clear and identifiable community of interests who are (under U.S. law) represented by a single labor union in collective bargaining and other dealings with management. negotiating team. At the time, Airbus mounted a massive cost cutting campaign. "That's what allowed Boeing to take the lead then and it's allowing Airbus to outsell out·sell tr.v. out·sold , out·sell·ing, out·sells 1. To surpass (another) in an amount sold: a book that outsold all others of its kind. 2. us now," Northcraft said. Contract agreements for the 13,000 engineers and 9,000 technical workers in the Puget Sound region expire Dec. 1. A contract agreement for the 1,500 engineers in Wichita expires Dec. 5. SPEEA members have designed every Boeing airplane and modification for more than 55 years. Their engineering and technical expertise is often called the brains and heart of the Boeing Company. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion