Boeing’s Machinists get $3,000

Published 11:03 pm Thursday, November 8, 2007

EVERETT — On Thanksgiving, the Machinists who build Boeing Co. aircraft will have about $67.5 million in their pockets collectively.

But that doesn’t mean the more than 22,000 Machinists who will receive a lump sum payment of $3,000 each will funnel that money back into the local economy anytime soon. Instead, most have been urged by the union to save the money to carry them through a strike next year if contract renegotiations break down.

“I’m going to bank mine,” said Mike Cummins, a 20-year Boeing worker. “That’s probably not what the retailers want to hear.”

But Cummins noted that a strike would be painful for regional retailers, particularly if Machinists in the region haven’t prepared financially for a work stoppage.

The local district of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers staged a 28-day strike against the Boeing Co. during their last negotiations. As part of that 2005 contract, Boeing agreed to make $3,000 payments to the Machinists in both 2006 and 2007.

Connie Kelliher, spokeswoman for the Machinists, emphasized that the payment is not a bonus. The union agreed to the lump sum payments, among other things, in lieu of raises.

Boeing will make this year’s payment on Nov. 21, the day before Thanksgiving. Last year, the company handed out about $57 million in payments to 19,000 Machinists. The company continues to add Machinists to its work force, with an estimated 22,500 Machinists receiving the payment this year.

Most Machinists will tuck their $3,000 payment away into a strike fund, said K.C. White, who works in Boeing’s machine shop.

“It’s just a good idea to be prepared,” he said.

The union has headed into contract talks with Boeing in years when the company had a healthy backlog and the economy was good only to be surprised by what Boeing had to offer.

“Things are good at Boeing. And for the most part, it’s a good company,” White said. “But it’s a cyclical industry that we work in and you’ve got to prepare.”

Boeing will head into contract talks with the Machinists at a time when the company has both a record backlog and an ambitious agenda for new jets. Although Boeing wouldn’t face large penalties from customers should it deliver jets late due to a strike, the company’s chief executive has indicated a strike would not be good for Boeing.

“We do not want a work stoppage,” he said.

The company has run into trouble with its fast-selling new 787 Dreamliner. Boeing has delayed the first delivery of its new Dreamliner by six months.

The local Machinists’ president, Tom Wroblewski, was quick to point out that Boeing outsourced much of the work on the 787, rather than sending that work to local Machinists.

“The problems and delays could have been prevented if our members had build the plane,” Wroblewski wrote in his Aero Mechanic monthly column.

Entry level wages and benefits likely will be hot-button issues during contract negotiations next year. Machinist Steve Morrison, who has worked with Boeing for 11 years, says he hopes to see Boeing improve its retirement and health care offering.

Although Morrison hasn’t seen any indication that a strike is probable, he’ll put his $3,000 — less taxes — into savings to tide his family through should one occur.

“Every contract year, you go into it just feeling like it’s going to happen,” he said.

“We just don’t know what the company has to offer yet.”