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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Boeing's new lead negotiator seeks solutions 4/18/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, April 17, 2008 Kansas talks set tone for Boeing union Michelle Dunlop Herald Writer EVERETT -- Boeing Co. engineers in Everett will keep an eye on how their union negotiates salaries and bonuses when it meets with a supplier this summer. The labor group heads into talks with Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems in June to hammer out pay issues. The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace recently laid out its initial contract proposal to members at Spirit in Kansas. SPEEA will negotiate a new three-year contract with Boeing for Puget Sound area members this fall. The union's contract with Spirit doesn't expire until 2011 but provides for "economic" talks this year. While pay increases will be an issue, a more controversial aspect of negotiations with Spirit could be over bonuses. A group of Spirit workers already have launched an effort to decertify the engineers' union there, partially as a result of the union's being excluded from a bonus Spirit paid out recently. The workers who want to get rid of SPEEA have until mid-May to collect signatures to force a vote. Spirit builds the Boeing 737's fuselage as well as the forward sections of the 747, 767 and 777 jets. The aerospace firm also supplies composite barrel sections for Boeing's new 787. SPEEA spokesman Bill Dugovich expects pay and bonuses also to be items on the union's agenda when it meets with Boeing this fall. SPEEA staged a 40-day strike against Boeing in 2000. A strike is not a possibility in the Spirit negotiations. And Dugovich believes Spirit is doing well enough to meet the union's needs. Like Boeing, Spirit has an impressive backlog of orders. And the company will receive some early payment from Boeing for its work on the 787, a plane that is nearly 18 months behind schedule. "We believe the workers are in a good position," Dugovich said. SPEEA represents about 24,000 engineers and technical workers across the country at companies including Boeing, Spirit, BAE Systems and Triumph Composite Systems.

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