Fighting Machinists threaten a skirmish
Published 9:00 pm Monday, May 8, 2006
Things have slowed down a little for me, so I’m starting to get caught up on my reading.
This recent article from the Puget Sound Business Journal jumps out at me. Machinists union president Mark Blondin tells PSBJ http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12571901/ that he and his staff will go to war in Olympia next session, to get changes in state tax breaks for the aerospace industry.
Key Quote: “Blondin said his union will push the 2007 state Legislature to change tax-break laws and will try to unionize new suppliers. In addition, Blondin promises that the loss of union jobs will be a central theme in the next round of contract negotiations with Boeing in 2008.”
The Machinists have carried the water for Boeing in recent years in Olympia. They were a strong ally in getting the original $3.2 billion tax break that led Boeing to build the 787 here, and they provided support for unemployment insurance reforms that were opposed by much of organized labor.
So why this split? Blondin and the union are angry over Boeing’s decision to outsource materials handling for the 787 to New Breed Logistics. http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/02/24/100loc_a1boeing001.cfm When I talked with Blondin back in February, he was fuming.
Key Quote: “‘So much for working together,’ said Mark Blondin, president of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local No. 751. ‘It’s a real BS deal.’”
Blondin was still obviously angry when he wrote this column, published in the April issue of The Aeromechanic, the union’s in-house newsletter. http://www.iam751.org/aero/Aero_April_06.pdf
Key Quote: “They say that the only job security we can have is for them to sell more airplanes. They sell the airplanes and give our security to non-Union companies with lower wages and no benefits while at the same time their profits soar and executives rake in millions in bonuses and stock options. And the state gives tax breaks for them to do it. Something is wrong with this picture.”
