SPEEA: Strike, now ‘likely,’ would disrupt 787 probe

  • By Michelle Dunlop Herald Writer
  • Friday, January 11, 2013 6:34pm
  • Business

Boeing Co. engineers and technical workers could be headed toward a strike even as federal regulators launch an investigation into mechanical issues with the company’s newest jet, the 787 Dreamliner.

On Friday, Boeing negotiators gave what they consider to be a complete and revised contract offer to leaders of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, which represents 22,950 workers, about half of whom work in Everett.

Earlier in the day, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a comprehensive review of the design, manufacturing and assembly of the 787 — a rare undertaking that will require the help of Boeing engineers and technical workers who design and test the planes and see to problems on the assembly lines.

And Ray Goforth, SPEEA’s executive director, says a strike is “highly likely.”

Boeing’s latest proposal includes higher annual wage increases compared to previous offers; the last had annual wage-pool increases ranging from 3 percent to 4.5 percent.

For engineers, the new proposal includes salary-pool increases of 5 percent during the first two years of the contract and 4 percent in the last two years. The average salary for an engineer now is $110,000 per year. Technical workers would see salary-pool increases of 4 percent annually for the duration of the contract, with an additional lump sum equaling 1 percent of their salary in years one and two. The average technical worker makes $79,000 annually.

But the company is standing firm on a health-care proposal that requires employees to contribute more toward costs. And Boeing isn’t changing a proposed plan to switch incoming engineers and technical workers to a 401(k) retirement plan rather than enter them into the defined pension plan existing employees have.

For a lot of SPEEA members, Boeing’s traditional pension plan is the deciding factor in joining the company versus another aerospace firm, said Elaine Griffis, a 29-year Boeing employee and SPEEA member. Griffis participated in both of SPEEA’s previous strikes, a one-day walkout in 1993 and a 40-day work stoppage in 2000.

“It feels a lot like when we struck the last time,” she said.

Boeing is unwilling to continue offering a defined pension because the company needs a deal that “works both in the short and long term,” Mike Delaney, vice president of engineering for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said during a conference call with reporters Friday.

Delaney has said the company would have to move work to other sites within Boeing if it can’t keep costs competitive in the Puget Sound region.

“We believe our offer is market-leading,” he said.

Boeing and SPEEA have been negotiating since April. The company and union resumed talks this week after a monthlong hiatus. SPEEA members voted to reject an offer from Boeing in October.

Boeing is to send an electronic version of the new offer by the end of the day Monday. The union will review the offer and decide whether to return to talks scheduled for Wednesday or to send it to members for a vote. If SPEEA negotiators decide to urge members to reject the offer, they’ll also ask them to give leaders the authority to call a strike.

That could make way for a walkout by early February. It’s uncertain how long the FAA’s review of the 787 will take, but any major changes would require engineering help. Delaney insisted Friday that the company has contingency plans, including bringing in engineers from other divisions within the company to assist in the review if necessary.

Analysts, however, say the 787 problems give SPEEA leverage in the contract talks. Scott Hamilton, of Leeham Co., noted that a SPEEA strike could bring the FAA review to a stop “or at the very least slow to a crawl.” And Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Teal Group, said the 787 review “strengthens SPEEA’s hand.”

Goforth wasn’t optimistic about Boeing seeing it that way. Boeing’s corporate officers have a “real delusional level of denial” about the role SPEEA members play in the company, he said in an interview Friday.

For more details on Boeing’s proposal, visit speea.org or boeing.com/speea-negotiations.

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

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.