Boeing Employees Recertify SPEEA Bargaining Unit; Negotiations Start Tuesday, Feb. 17.Business Editors WICHITA, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 2004 Technical and professional employees at The Boeing Company today reaffirmed their desire to belong to 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 ), IFPTE IFPTE International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers Local 2001, AFL-CIO AFL-CIO: see American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. AFL-CIO in full American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations U.S. . The tally, announced shortly after 9 p.m. after an election by the National Labor Relations Board National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), independent agency of the U.S. government created under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Wagner Act), and amended by the acts of 1947 (Taft-Hartley Labor Act) and 1959 (Landrum-Griffin Act), which affirmed labor's right (NLRB), showed 1,577 employees voted 'yes' and 1,513 voted against union representation. The margin of 64 votes is almost identical to the 65-vote margin that resulted in creation of the 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. in 2000. "I'm elated e·lat·ed adj. Exultantly proud and joyful. e·lat  ed·ly adv.e·lat ," said SPEEA Midwest Director Bob Brewer. "Boeing employees made a critical career decision today and that decision was to keep the protections that only a union can provide." Employees started voting at 5:30 a.m. with polls closing at 5 p.m. SPEEA members and Boeing representatives monitored the vote counting, which took place in a Boeing auditorium. "The vote shows again that this group of employees wants union representation," said SPEEA Executive Director Charles Bofferding. With the election now complete, SPEEA and Boeing can focus on negotiating a new contract for the 3,500 employees in the Wichita Technical and Professional Unit (WTPU). The two sides were originally scheduled to open main table talks on Jan. 26. SPEEA /WTPU Negotiations Team Chair Steve Smith said he is ready for main table negotiations to start on Tuesday (Feb. 17). "The employees supported us and we are now ready to go to the negotiations table focused on getting a good contract for all our represented employees," Smith said. The NLRB called the election after a small group of employees and Boeing managers worked for nearly a year to collect signatures seeking a recertification recertification Recredentialing Graduate education A process in which a professional is periodically re-evaluated–eg, every 10 yrs by an accrediting body to assure continued provision of safe, high-quality health care election. Both sides have campaigned for the past two months. The campaign intensified last week as Boeing locked union officials out of the Wichita plant but continued to hold meetings with employees to advocate against the union, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Bill Dugovich, SPEEA spokesman. For its part, SPEEA and the IFPTE used a network of 200 Communication Action Representatives and 40 Council Representatives to provide information to employees inside the Wichita plant. "This has been an extremely difficult thing to go through, but we are coming out of it stronger," Bofferding said. SPEEA, IFPTE Local 2001, AFL-CIO, represents 20,000 technical and professional workers at Boeing in seven states.
Eligible voters 3,454
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Valid ballots 3,091
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Challenged ballots 1
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Yes - recertify 1,577
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No 1,513
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