SPEEA Negotiators Unanimously Recommend Wichita Engineers Reject Boeing Offer.

WICHITA, Kan. -- The Boeing Company today delivered a contract offer to engineers at its Integrated Defense System plant here that would drive wages further below market averages and extend the length of the agreement to separate them from union-represented engineers in the Puget Sound bargaining units.

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001, opened main table negotiations with Boeing Tuesday, Nov. 8 at the IAM/Boeing Joint Programs Building. The union is seeking a new contract for 802 engineers at the Wichita Boeing plant. The existing contract expires Dec. 5.

"Our team is very disappointed in the approach management has taken with the Wichita engineers," said Bob Brewer, SPEEA Midwest director. "For the first time in history, management is trying to give us lower wage pools than are provided to Puget Sound engineers. We are concerned this is the first stage of a 'divide and conquer' strategy that treats us like second class citizens and isolates us in an attempt to pay Wichita engineers below market wages."

SPEEA completed negotiations with Boeing in Seattle on Tuesday, Nov. 15, with tentative agreements for contracts covering 17,900 engineers and technical workers. If approved by members, represented engineers in the union's Puget Sound Professional Unit will receive first year increases from a salary pool of 7 percent. The current offer to Wichita engineers would create a 5 percent salary adjustment pool. Boeing management's own market research shows engineers in Wichita already lag their peers at Boeing and other national companies by a significant amount. The market is expected to grow by at least 4 percent over the coming year.

In addition, Boeing's offer would eliminate the Early Retiree Medical benefit for employees hired after Jan. 1, 2007. The Puget Sound agreement includes a written agreement with Boeing to jointly research methods to provide the benefit in the future. The benefit provides medical insurance for qualifying employees until Medicare kicks in at age 65. Wichita Boeing management offered no such commitment.

"What a difference leadership makes," said Charles Bofferding, SPEEA executive director. "With Boeing Commercial leading we got a true working-together partnership, a good contract, and our team issued a unanimous recommendation to accept the offer. With Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) leading, we got old school negotiation tactics, a bad contract and our team is issued a unanimous recommendation to reject the offer. Boeing IDS is better than this and we will help make it so."

SPEEA represents 4,660 employees in Wichita at Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. Overall, the professional union represents 22,200 engineers, technical and professional employees in Washington, Kansas, Oregon, Utah and California. SPEEA, a Local of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), also represents workers at BAE Systems, Inc., in Irving, Texas, and Triumph Composite Systems, Inc., in Spokane, Wash.