Show us some love and show us the money. That could be the mantra for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace as it enters contract talks with the Boeing Co.
“Boeing is market-leading,” SPEEA executive director Charles Bofferding said. “We think our salaries should be market-leading.”
The negotiating teams for Boeing and SPEEA – the union for engineers and technical workers at the company – heads to the Red Lion Hotel at SeaTac on Tuesday to begin up to two weeks’ of face-to-face talks on a new contract.
It’s the same hotel where Boeing and the Machinists union met in August to try to work out a contract. Those talks weren’t successful, and the Machinists ended up striking for 28 days.
While the venue may be the same, these talks will be different in tone as well as substance.
The International Association of Machinists goes in for an old-school labor style, with fist-pumping, sign-waving and hearts-on-their-sleeves rallies to show union solidarity. SPEEA leaders like to view their union as a collection of problem solvers; let’s agree on a set of data, then quietly work together for an optimum solution.
SPEEA also elects rank-and-file members to represent the union at the bargaining table, unlike the Machinists, who have paid staffers do the bargaining.
Another difference: Where the Machinists offered to forgo pay raises in favor of pension increases, SPEEA wants more money for its members.
Demand for engineers and technical workers is high, and if Boeing wants to keep its top talent, it needs to increase their pay, Bofferding said. Raises of 2 percent, plus inflation, would be “a good benchmark,” he said.
“It’s a classic supply-demand thing,” the union chief said. “I’ve never heard Boeing tell investors, ‘We’re going to get you an average return on your investment.’” Boeing should treat their employees the same way, he said.
The union also wants its members to be eligible for Boeing’s employee incentive program, which provides nonunion workers with bonuses of extra pay if the company hits performance targets.
“Everybody should be in the same incentive program,” Bofferding said.
Differences aside, SPEEA will benefit from following the Machinists to the bargaining table, Bofferding said.
“Let’s give a lot of credit to the IAM,” he said. “The IAM moved management on medical and the pension multiplier. The IAM did a good job there, and we’re glad they did.”
In a message posted on Boeing’s Web site on Tuesday, company executives said, “We know that wages are important and that employees highly value our health care and retirement benefits.
“We’ll work with SPEEA,” the message continued, “to find the right balance in a total compensation package that recognizes employees for their accomplishments and helps secure a strong, competitive future for all of us.”
The company is “willing to discuss” incentive bonuses, the online message said.
About 18,700 Boeing workers are covered by SPEEA contracts – about the same number of workers represented by the Machinists union. About 17,800 SPEEA members work at Puget Sound facilities.
Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com.
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