WICHITA, Kan. – Spirit Aerosystems Inc. told its 8,600 employees in Kansas and Oklahoma on Tuesday that it will resume full operations as soon as striking Machinists at the Boeing Co. ratify their contract.
Spirit Aerosystems – the company formed after Onex Corp. bought out Boeing’s commercial airplane operations in Wichita, Tulsa, Okla., and McAlester, Okla. – has worked three-day weeks since 18,400 International Association of Machinists members walked off the job.
Boeing is the sole customer of Spirit Aerosystems.
| Boeing strike
Today is the 27th day of the International Association of Machinists’ strike against the Boeing Co. Negotiators for both sides have reached a tentative agreement. Union members will vote on the proposal Thursday. |
A tentative deal reached by Boeing and its Machinists union goes to a vote Thursday.
“It is certainly a positive step,” Boeing spokesman Fred Solis said. “Just like everybody even touched by it, we are hopeful it will be resolved.”
If that vote passes, Spirit Aerosystems workers will continue to work three days for the remainder of this week, Ron Brunton, executive vice president, told employees in a memo. That will increase to four workdays next week and five the following week.
If the contract is not ratified, Spirit Aerosystems will continue its shortened workweek, according to the memo.
“We just wanted to communicate with our employees and put together some preliminary plans that hopefully we will be able to implement following the vote on Thursday,” Solis said.
Members of the Machinists union walked off the job Sept. 2 at Boeing plants in the Seattle area; Gresham, Ore.; and Wichita. The union represents 18,400 people at the three facilities, including 960 at its defense operations plant in Wichita.
The strike raised fears of layoffs at Boeing suppliers, particularly at the fledgling Spirit Aerosystems plants in Kansas and Oklahoma.
“Spirit did take a look at the whole picture – the business side of it, plus the people side of it – and wanted very much to find a balance between something that was obviously going to preserve the company and allow it to continue and also something that would spare the employees as much as possible,” Solis said.
“I think that says a lot about the leadership that decided to take that approach.”
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