Published: Friday, March 6, 2009
No Boeing strike in Wichita
SPEEA union members reject Boeing's contract offer but vote against a walkout.
EVERETT -- Boeing engineers in Kansas rejected the company's contract offer Thursday but voted down a move to go on strike.
The engineers, represented by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, voted 180-84 against Boeing's contract. This is the second time that SPEEA members at Boeing's defense site in Wichita have snubbed the company's offer, which remained essentially unchanged since the initial vote in February.
SPEEA members voted against giving union leaders strike authorization with 140 members rejecting a strike, 118 supporting it and six engineers abstaining. Union leaders had urged members to approve a strike. SPEEA negotiators will decide whether to pursue further negotiations with the company.
A strike in Wichita would have been the second against the aerospace company in the last year. Boeing's Machinists shut down the company's airplane factories last fall during a 57-day work stoppage.
Last December, the union and Boeing agreed to a four-year contract for roughly 20,000 workers in the Puget Sound region.
But SPEEA leaders say Boeing's three-year contract offer to its Kansas workers falls far short of the deal given to engineers here. Boeing officials believe the contract "rewards employees" despite a global economic crisis.
The union takes issue with the change in pension plans offered to the two divisions. Boeing wants to do away with its defined pension plan for new Wichita engineers, offering them a 401(k)-type retirement plan. SPEEA batted down that idea in Washington, and Boeing's final offer kept the existing defined pension plans in place.
SPEEA leaders have expressed concern that Boeing may sell off its Wichita site, though company officials deny the account. Union members in Wichita have been working under an extended contract since early December.
Boeing announced last year that it would lay off 800 hourly and salary employees at its Wichita location. The company plans to cut 10,000 jobs company wide, including 4,500 commercial airplanes workers in the Puget Sound area.
The engineers, represented by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, voted 180-84 against Boeing's contract. This is the second time that SPEEA members at Boeing's defense site in Wichita have snubbed the company's offer, which remained essentially unchanged since the initial vote in February.
SPEEA members voted against giving union leaders strike authorization with 140 members rejecting a strike, 118 supporting it and six engineers abstaining. Union leaders had urged members to approve a strike. SPEEA negotiators will decide whether to pursue further negotiations with the company.
A strike in Wichita would have been the second against the aerospace company in the last year. Boeing's Machinists shut down the company's airplane factories last fall during a 57-day work stoppage.
Last December, the union and Boeing agreed to a four-year contract for roughly 20,000 workers in the Puget Sound region.
But SPEEA leaders say Boeing's three-year contract offer to its Kansas workers falls far short of the deal given to engineers here. Boeing officials believe the contract "rewards employees" despite a global economic crisis.
The union takes issue with the change in pension plans offered to the two divisions. Boeing wants to do away with its defined pension plan for new Wichita engineers, offering them a 401(k)-type retirement plan. SPEEA batted down that idea in Washington, and Boeing's final offer kept the existing defined pension plans in place.
SPEEA leaders have expressed concern that Boeing may sell off its Wichita site, though company officials deny the account. Union members in Wichita have been working under an extended contract since early December.
Boeing announced last year that it would lay off 800 hourly and salary employees at its Wichita location. The company plans to cut 10,000 jobs company wide, including 4,500 commercial airplanes workers in the Puget Sound area.
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