Boeing, SPEEA resume talks; is Nov. 25 a deadline?

Negotiations between the Boeing Co. and engineers and technical workers are starting to sound like a high-stakes game of chicken.

The collision point seems to be Nov. 25. Boeing says that’s the soonest members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace could strike.

The union says that’s the soonest the company could lock workers out.

The mutually low expectations follow an overwhelming rejection of a Boeing contract offer by SPEEA members in voting that ended Monday. Engineer union members rejected the offer 9,770-454. Technical workers turned it down 5,327-154. About 72 percent of some 22,765 eligible SPEEA members voted.

Until Monday night, when the results were announced by the union, neither side had brought up a Nov. 25 deadline. The company says that on Sept. 26 SPEEA filed notice that the contracts for both professional and technical workers would be terminated at midnight Nov. 25. So what does that mean?

On Tuesday, both Boeing and SPEEA called it a procedural step.

“It allows them, if they choose, to take a strike authority vote,” said Doug Alder, Boeing spokesman.

SPEEA needed to give Boeing an end date to the contract so it could ask members to give the union’s negotiators the OK to call for a strike, Alder said. Although SPEEA negotiators now can ask for strike authority at any time, the union can’t go out on strike until 12:01 a.m. Nov. 26, the Boeing spokesman said.

If you are on SPEEA’s side, however, it apparently looks different. Boeing could lock SPEEA members out on Nov. 26 if the company chooses, said Bill Dugovich, communications director for the union.

Dugovich said he wouldn’t characterize SPEEA’s 60-day contract termination notification as a move to force negotiations to a head by Nov. 25. In SPEEA’s eyes, the union’s existing contract largely would remain in place even if an agreement is not reached by Nov. 25, Dugovich said.

On the company’s contract negotiations website, Boeing notes that there have been previous occasions in which SPEEA has given the 60-day notice that “provided a window to complete negotiations.”

Boeing’s Alder was less specific about what would happen at 12:01 a.m. Nov. 26 if the company and union have no agreement.

“We really aren’t going to speculate,” Alder said. “Our team really wants to focus on getting a deal as quickly as possible.”

SPEEA’s Dugovich said that union leaders were perplexed that Boeing had mentioned the Nov. 25 date in its message to members last night.

“We think that Boeing is sending this out as an issue to deflect from the real issue, which is the stunning defeat of their contract,” Dugovich said.

Like Boeing, though, SPEEA is “focused on productive negotiations,” Dugovich said.

Boeing and SPEEA officials were to begin meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday. Check back for updates later.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.