Boeing’s Conner to SPEEA: ‘Nobody wins in a strike’

As the Boeing Co. struggles to get its 787 back on track, the company is appealing to its engineering workers to accept its labor contract and not to go on strike.

“Nobody wins in a strike,” Ray Conner, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, wrote Thursday in a message to engineers and technical workers. “It’s important that we protect our competitiveness in the long-run, even if that means some short-term pain.”

Conner and Boeing are facing down two challenges: a 787 that has been grounded by federal regulators and a potential strike by the very workers the company is relying on to return the Dreamliner to commercial service.

The 22,950 members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace received this week ballots to vote on Boeing’s contract offer. SPEEA leaders are urging members to reject Boeing’s offer. Also on the ballot is measure, also supported by union leaders, that would give SPEEA negotiators the authority to call a strike.

If granted strike authorization, SPEEA negotiators intend to “return to the bargaining table, under the auspices of the federal mediator, to get a better contract,” Ray Goforth, SPEEA’s executive director, told members in a video message.

SPEEA members have until 5 p.m. on Feb. 19 to return their ballots to the union.

The vote tallying will take place — barring a major breakthrough — before Boeing will resolve the battery troubles that grounded its Dreamliner on Jan. 16.

On Thursday, investigators called into question assumptions made by the company in seeking special certification from the Federal Aviation Administration on the 787’s lithium-ion batteries. The FAA reiterated its vow to safety Thursday while granting Boeing’s request to conduct 787 test flights to gather data on the jet’s batteries and electrical systems. Boeing has to take precautions on the test flights and isn’t allowed to fly over populated areas.

Boeing’s Conner appealed to SPEEA members’ sense of dedication in his message Thursday.

“It was your innovation, talent and skill that brought the 787 Dreamliner to life,” he wrote. “Now more than ever, we need to deliver on those promises by coming together as one team.”

SPEEA leaders, however, say the company’s proposal would divide the union in the long term, not bring members and the company together.

The major point of contention in Boeing’s contract offer is a change in retirement plan for SPEEA members hired after Feb. 28. Those workers would be enrolled in a 401(k) plan, not the pension given to existing SPEEA members. With 50 percent of Boeing workers expected to retire within the next decade, union leaders fear a potential rift between members with pension and those without within a couple contract cycles.

In his message, Boeing’s Conner dangled another trump card in front of SPEEA members: future development work.

“Getting a better handle on our pension costs now will enable us to do more amazing things in the future like the 777X and the 787-10X,” Conner wrote.

Even as Boeing return its 787-8 to commercial service, the company is working on two larger Dreamliners — the 787-9, set to be delivered next year; and the yet-to-be-launched 787-10X. Additionally, Boeing’s popular Everett-built 777 faces competition from Airbus’ A350 unless the Chicago-based Boeing strikes back with an updated version, dubbed the 777X.

In late 2011, Boeing was able to ink a quick contract deal with local members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers by promising to keep 737 MAX work in Renton. But the Machinists had leverage in the form of a federal labor lawsuit against Boeing. In signing the new labor contract, the union agreed to ditch the lawsuit, which alleged Boeing illegally retaliated against local Machinists for work stoppages in picking South Carolina over Everett for a second 787 assembly line.

SPEEA leaders, as well as industry analysts, believe union members also have leverage, given the company’s dire need for engineers and technical workers to resolve the 787’s problems.

Whether SPEEA members agree won’t be clear until Feb. 19.

Read Boeing’s FAQs on the contract from workers here.

Read Conner’s message to workers here.

Read SPEEA leaders’ messages to members here.

SPEEA Executive Director Ray Goforth talks about Boeing’s contract offer here.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

A closing sign hangs above the entrance of the Big Lots at Evergreen and Madison on Monday, July 22, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Big Lots announces it will shutter Everett and Lynnwood stores

The Marysville store will remain open for now. The retailer reported declining sales in the first quarter of the year.

George Montemor poses for a photo in front of his office in Lynnwood, Washington on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.  (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Despite high mortgage rates, Snohomish County home market still competitive

Snohomish County homes priced from $550K to $850K are pulling in multiple offers and selling quickly.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s robotic team, Jack in the Bot, shake hands at the 2024 Indiana Robotics Invitational.(Henry M. Jackson High School)
Mill Creek robotics team — Jack in the Bot — wins big

Henry M. Jackson High School students took first place at the Indiana Robotic Invitational for the second year in a row.

The computer science and robotics and artificial intelligence department faculty includes (left to right) faculty department head Allison Obourn; Dean Carey Schroyer; Ishaani Priyadarshini; ROBAI department head Sirine Maalej and Charlene Lugli. PHOTO: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College.
Edmonds College to offer 2 new four-year degree programs

The college is accepting applications for bachelor programs in computer science as well as robotics and artificial intelligence.

Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, Advanced Manufacturing Skills Center executive director Larry Cluphf, Boeing Director of manufacturing and safety Cameron Myers, Edmonds College President Amit Singh, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, July 2 celebrating the opening of a new fuselage training lab at Paine Field. Credit: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College
‘Magic happens’: Paine Field aerospace center dedicates new hands-on lab

Last month, Edmonds College officials cut the ribbon on a new training lab — a section of a 12-ton Boeing 767 tanker.

Gov. Jay Inslee presents CEO Fredrik Hellstrom with the Swedish flag during a grand opening ceremony for Sweden-based Echandia on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Swedish battery maker opens first U.S. facility in Marysville

Echandia’s marine battery systems power everything from tug boats to passenger and car ferries.

Helion Energy CEO and co-founder David Kirtley talks to Governor Jay Inslee about Trenta, Helion’s 6th fusion prototype, during a tour of their facility on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
State grants Everett-based Helion a fusion energy license

The permit allows Helion to use radioactive materials to operate the company’s fusion generator.

People walk past the new J.sweets storefront in Alderwood Mall on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Japanese-style sweets shop to open in Lynnwood

J. Sweets, offering traditional Japanese and western style treats opens, could open by early August at the Alderwood mall.

Diane Symms, right, has been the owner and CEO of Lombardi's Italian Restaurants for more than three decades. Now in her 70s, she's slowly turning the reins over to her daughter, Kerri Lonergan-Dreke.Shot on Friday, Feb. 21, 2020 in Everett, Wash. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant in Mill Creek to close

Lombardi’s Restaurant Group sold the Mill Creek property currently occupied by the restaurant. The Everett and Bellingham locations remain open.

The Safeway store at 4128 Rucker Ave., on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Mike Henneke / The Herald)
Kroger and Albertsons plan to sell these 19 Snohomish County grocers

On Tuesday, the grocery chains released a list of stores included in a deal to avoid anti-competition concerns amid a planned merger.

Helion Energy CEO and co-founder David Kirtley talks to Governor Jay Inslee about Trenta, Helion's 6th fusion prototype, during a tour of their facility on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Inslee energized from visit to Everett fusion firms

Helion Energy and Zap Energy offered state officials a tour of their plants. Both are on a quest to generate carbon-free electricity from fusion.

Awards honor employers who promote workers with disabilities

Nominations are due July 31 for the awards from the Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.