SPEEA accepts contract from Spirit

Published 6:05 pm Thursday, October 8, 2009

Union engineers at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems have accepted that company’s contract offer.

Members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace in Wichita, Kan., voted 266 to 40 to accept Spirit’s latest contract.

The union rejected Spirit’s previous two offers.

“The longer negotiations went, the stronger our position became,” said Chris Black, chairman for the Wichita engineers bargaining unit. “We didn’t get everything, but we met our targets.”

SPEEA said it saw a surge in membership during negotiations with Spirit.

The union and Boeing inked a labor agreement for engineers and technical workers here in the Puget Sound region late last year.