It’s going to be an interesting ride for Boeing’s engineers this week.
Following the announced delay of Boeing’s 787, for the next six months, all eyes will fix on Everett as if the Dreamliner was The One Ring out of a J. R. R. Tolkien book. Are there signs of progress? A further delay?
As if outside pressure isn’t enough, the engineers will make a decision this week that could very will impact their next three-year contract with Boeing, which will be negotiated next year.
Members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace will vote on whether to
recall four executive board members
The four members face recall in part because of their decision to oust SPEEA’s executive director Charles Bofferding in July.
Why does the recall matter? For one, the vote likely has pushed back SPEEA’s time line for hiring a new director, the group’s spokesman told me on Friday. (This, like the Dreamliner delay, seems only prudent, given the board hoped to begin reviewing candidates as early as today with the recall vote slated for Wednesday.) A new board-hired director and, if the recall is successful, new board members could have a lot of influence in SPEEA-Boeing contract talks next year.
The months following the 4-3 vote on Bofferding have been filled with as much back-and-forth action as did Game Two of the Red Sox-Indians series, minus the 11th inning. (Is it too late to get Trot back? Let’s go, Red Sox.) There was a previous recall effort, a controversial column and a somewhat delayed rebuttal.
Just last week, members tried not only to block any chance of bringing Bofferding back (the motion failed) but also to censure SPEEA’s president, Cynthia Cole (the motion also failed).
The friction at SPEEA drew the dismay of international union leaders.
You can read the pros and cons of recalling each of the four board members on SPEEA’s site.
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