Boeing's new lead negotiator seeks solutions

EVERETT -- What are the chances of a labor strike against the Boeing Co. this year?

The odds are against a strike, if you ask the company's lead negotiator, Doug Kight.

"We've got an opportunity to enhance the way we do business, maximizing the chance for reaching a timely agreement," Kight said.

It won't be only Boeing that will send a new face into contracts talks this year. The unions representing engineers and technicians and the Machinists will also send in new faces. The labor negotiations come at a critical time for Boeing as the company tries to get its delayed 787 Dreamliner back on schedule while juggling the releases of its 777 and 747-8 freighters.

Kight stepped into his role as vice president of human resources in late 2006. He comes to the negotiating table having provided legal counsel to his predecessor, Jerry Calhoun, during previous contract talks.

While Kight said he absorbed Calhoun's wisdom through the years, he'll set his own style of negotiating with Boeing's two largest unions. He intends this year's talks to be "marked by openness and transparency" and said that Boeing is trying to do a good deal of listening to its workers.

"We've been having some really good discussions," Kight said.

The local district of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers heads into negotiations with Boeing first. The union presents its initial contract proposal May 9.

Tom Wroblewski serves as district president for the union, which has more than 20,000 members in the region.

"Our members have continued to produce for the company during these past uncertain times and deserve to share in the record profits that the company has reaped," he said.

Both Boeing and the Machinists agree that entry level workers' starting wages should be raised. A beginning production worker can be paid a minimum of $12.72 an hour, according to the union's current contract.

Boeing has been reviewing industry data and sharing it with the unions, Kight said. While that data shows entry-level wages need a boost, it also suggests seasoned Machinists on the top end of the pay scale receive "very favorable" wages, he said. Both will need to be addressed.

With a goal of continually increasing productivity, Boeing will look to tie worker incentives to that goal.

The Machinists routinely have voiced concerns over the amount of work that Boeing has outsourced. The labor group points to the company's recent troubles with its 787. Boeing's global partners supply major structures with workers in Everett piecing together rather than building those assemblies.

That's not a pattern Boeing is likely to reverse, Kight said. And bringing back work or outsourcing less in the future won't be guarantees the company makes during negotiations.

Kight points to the largely international customer base of the 787.

"As a condition of winning a contract, you've got to place some work in that country," he said. "It simply is a fact of life."

That fact also may not go over well with Boeing's other union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace. SPEEA represents more than 20,000 engineers and technical workers in the Puget Sound area.

"We know the salary structure has to let us attract and retain talented employees," Kight said of SPEEA workers.

The union's new executive director, Ray Goforth, has referrred to some recent Boeing actions related to its contract with SPEEA as "aggressive."

The union filed a grievance against Boeing for making mid-contract changes to health care coverage for workers -- a move Boeing says it's entitled to make.

Boeing's health care costs come in at about $2 billion annually, Kight said. And while Boeing believes its health care benefit is one of the reasons people choose to work for the company, the aerospace giant hopes to reduce costs by promoting wellness programs.

SPEEA and Boeing also have butted heads over union representation, with SPEEA's Goforth alleging that Boeing's corporate base in Chicago wants to eliminate labor groups. Boeing's Kight isn't deterred by the tough talk.

"When you get past the rhetoric, you can actually start finding solutions to issues," he said.

Kight acknowledges that disagreements -- with either the Machinists or SPEEA -- will pop up during negotiations. But his goal is for the parties to maintain communications, even when they can't see eye to eye.

"Will it be difficult?" Kight said. "It always is."

But "I'm optimistic."

Reporter Michelle Dunlop: 425-339-3454 or mdunlop@heraldnet.com.