EVERETT – Union leaders for engineers and technicians at the Boeing Co. urged members to support Machinists in their ongoing strike.
“They were there for us in 2000,” said Bob Rommell, a contract administrator for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace. “It’s our turn to be there for them.”
Rommell spoke Tuesday at a lunchtime rally that drew more than 400 SPEEA members out to the International Association of Machinists picket lines outside Boeing’s main Everett office complex.
“Who knows, maybe we’ll both be out here,” Bruce Spaulding, the Machinists union’s district secretary-treasurer, told SPEEA members.
While the Machinists strike garnered headlines, SPEEA last week started the process of negotiating its own new contract with Boeing. The union’s negotiating team on Friday presented Boeing with a proposed contract. Negotiators said they expect the company to respond with a counterproposal around Oct. 15.
Round-the-clock SPEEA negotiations are scheduled to begin Nov. 1. SPEEA’s Puget Sound contracts – there are two, one for engineers and one for technicians – expire Dec. 1. SPEEA’s contract in Wichita, Kan., expires Dec. 5.
SPEEA’s top issues – health care and pensions – are the same as the Machinists, said Larry Marrell, a manufacturing engineer from Everett who is part of the union’s negotiating team.
SPEEA also seeks pay raises, he said.
“When it comes to medical benefits and retirement, we’ve got the same issues,” he said. “We want to protect what we have and make enhancements where possible.”
The union’s negotiators are not looking for a strike, said Alan Rice, a member of the 787 design group from Mukilteo who is also on the bargaining team. Instead, SPEEA seeks a “respectful compromise” that meets the needs of both workers and the company.
However, the union did strike Boeing for 40 days in 2000, Marrell noted. “We obviously did it once. If push comes to shove, they can do it again.”
The Machinists strike could be a factor in the SPEEA talks, Marrell said. He said it’s possible SPEEA’s contract will be delayed until Boeing settles with the Machinists.
“It’s something I anticipate – may or may not happen,” Marrell said. “There’s no way we’re going to settle our contract while they’re still on strike.”
SPEEA has donated $5,000 to the Machinists strike fund, and individual members are showing support by dropping off food and coffee to strikers and walking the picket lines with them. The union took donations at Tuesday’s rally for the Machinists food bank.
The Machinists appreciate the support, Spaulding said. “The issues for you are the same for us.”
He urged the engineers and technicians to unite behind their bargaining teams, as the Machinists did.
“Do not accept a subpar contract from this Boeing Co.,” Spaulding said. “That’s what they’re going to offer you.”
Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com.
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
Bob Rommell, contract administrator for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, leads fellow SPEEA members in a rally Tuesday at the Boeing plant in Everett to show support for striking Machinists.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
