By Bryan Corliss
Herald Writer
In a vote closely watched by other Boeing Co. workers, members of the union for technical workers in Irving, Texas, unanimously rejected a contract proposal Monday night.
The offer doesn’t take anything away from previous contracts and provides for raises to keep pay competitive with the local market, a Boeing spokesman said.
But workers considered the offer so distasteful that nine joined the union on Monday just so they could vote against it, said Bill Dugovich, spokesman for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, to which the workers belong.
It was the first unanimous no vote in the union’s history, he added.
Both sides expect to continue talks on the contract, which expires next week.
The Irving facility manufactures, modifies and repairs cockpit systems for Boeing jets. SPEEA’s bargaining group is small — only 140 workers, of whom 95 are union members. But their talks have greater significance because it is the first of four contracts SPEEA will negotiate with the company this year.
Contracts for both engineers and technicians around Puget Sound will expire in December, as will the contract for union engineers in Wichita, Kansas. Those three bargaining units comprise the majority of the union’s 24,000 members.
"There are an awful lot of people who are watching this situation to see how it reflects on their situation," Dugovich said.
The three-year offer guarantees annual raises of 2 percent for each worker, with greater raises possible based on merit. It was a balanced proposal, said Chuck Cadena, a spokesman for Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group. "There are absolutely no take-aways and it reflects the competitive market in Irving."
But Boeing balked at increasing disability benefits from $275 to $300 a week. Dugovich said $300 a week is standard for other workers at Irving. Keeping it at $275 for the 140 SPEEA workers would save the company about $18 a year per worker, he said.
Boeing obviously needs to hold the line on costs, given the industry downturn, Dugovich said. But "why would you do that to save $3,000 in the course of a year?" he added. "That’s going to extremes."
Dugovich said the union believes Boeing is trying to send a signal with its stance in Irving and that the talks there are "certainly an indicator of the tone that we expect the company to take" in the Puget Sound and Wichita areas later in the year.
Boeing’s approach to negotiations will be the same there as here, Cadena said — trying to find a deal that works for the company, the workers and everyone else who has a stake in Boeing.
But the outcomes may be different, he said.
"Some of the things you’re seeing in Irving reflect the local market there," Cadena said. "Here in Puget Sound, you look at our past agreements, particularly with the (Machinists union) — the last one was an industry-leading contract."
You can call Herald Writer Bryan Corliss at 425-339-3454
or send e-mail to corliss@heraldnet.com.
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