EVERETT — When he heard on Friday that Boeing’s Machinists were going on strike, Tim Barfield headed over to the union’s hall in Everett.
By 5:30 p.m., the young Machinist had helped split wood for union burn barrels that would be in place outside the gates of the Boeing Co.’s jet factory at 12:01 a.m. today. That’s when 24,000 Machinists went on strike against the aerospace company after negotiators failed to sign a new contract despite a last-ditch effort.
“I’m ready to strike,” said Barfield, a 24-year-old Machinist on Boeing’s 747 line.
And so were most of Barfield’s fellow union members. About 87 percent of Machinists had voted in favor of a strike on Wednesday. But union and company leaders agreed to a 48-hour stay, working with a federal mediator in Florida to try to reach an agreement on a new three-year contract. But the two sides remained too far apart Friday afternoon to derail a strike.
“This company disrespected the process, bargained illegally and most of all, disrespected the finest aerospace workers anywhere on the planet by failing to meet your expectations,” Tom Wroblewski, district president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, wrote in a message to members Friday afternoon.
Wroblewski and the union have emphasized several areas of the contract where Boeing fell short of their demands: job security, health insurance and wages. Boeing had offered an 11 percent wage increase over three years as well as a $2,500 signing bonus. Machinists also would have received a lump sum payment in the first year that equaled $3,900 on average. But the union said the contract contained several takeaways and shifted costs around, upping the health insurance deductible and maximums.
Boeing’s labor spokesman Tim Healy told reporters Friday evening that the company’s contract offer was outstanding.
“We felt it was the best in the industry,” he said.
The company will not continue to produce jets while the Machinists are on strike. It will deliver already completed aircraft and continue to provide parts and support for jets in service. Testing and design work on new programs, such as Boeing’s 777 Freighter or its 787 Dreamliner, will continue with the work of Boeing’s engineers and technical workers. The union representing Boeing’s engineering employees is scheduled to start early contract talks with the company next week.
Healy acknowledged that a long strike would hurt Boeing’s chances of flying its already delayed 787 later this year. That could also affect Boeing’s ability to deliver 25 Dreamliner jets to customers such as Japan’s All Nippon Airways next year. The company’s need to get the 787 on track, coupled with its record backlog of jet orders, made industry observers think Boeing would try to keep a labor strike short.
Scott Carson, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, stressed the extended impact of a strike in a message sent to employees Wednesday night after the Machinists overwhelmingly rejected the company’s contract and voted to strike.
“Our customers are obviously going to be affected. … Our suppliers, too, will feel the impact immediately,” Carson wrote.
“And there’s no question about the negative economic effect on our local communities,” he added.
Analysts have estimated that Boeing could feel the impact of a labor strike to the tune of $100 million daily. That’s the same amount that Snohomish County won’t see pushed into the local economy should the Machinists strike for a month, local labor economist Donna Thompson has predicted. Although the Machinists went on strike in 2005 for 28 days, it is unknown how long this strike could go on.
Gov. Chris Gregoire, who had facilitated talks with the mediator, called the breakdown between Boeing and the Machinists “unfortunate.”
“I urge both parties to continue working on a resolution and settle the strike as quickly as possible,” she said in a statement.
Both sides said Friday that they were open to talking, but no further negotiations have been scheduled.
“If this company wants to talk, they have my number, they can reach me on the picket line,” Wroblewski said.
Machinists such as Barfield say they’re prepared for the long haul with either savings or temporary work or both. The union provides its members with $150 weekly after the third week of a work stoppage.
Machinist Gary Caya, who was taking part in an early, unsanctioned strike Friday evening, is no stranger to walkouts, having taken part in one during his first year at Boeing in 1989. This is Caya’s fourth strike.
“I learned back then in order to get the company to listen, sometimes we have to stand up and go on strike,” he said.
Caya couldn’t predict how long the strike would last. But wages and bonuses aren’t why Caya was walking the picket line. Instead, he said the contract didn’t provide sufficient assurances on job security given its outsourcing on the 787.
“It’s about keeping the skills here in the state so the next generation will have good jobs,” Caya said.
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.
