Regarding Boeing SPEEA members:
According to news reports, 85 percent of their membership approved the latest contract. On the surface, the immediate gains seemed reasonable and justified the approval. What may not be apparent on the surface is the less than obvious fact that the company has no intention of suffering any losses caused by the membership contractual gains. They will recover the agreed upon increased expense one way or another.
The company considers the increased cost of the SPEEA contract as a necessary expense to avoid work stoppage. On the other hand, the company considers we SPEEA retirees as an unproductive expense, and quite vulnerable. There is no requirement covering the net amount due us.
Let me offer my own experience as an example of what one might expect on retirement. My exit interview was convincingly “rosy.” It was not mentioned that there was no provision for the monthly check to keep up with the ever-increasing cost of living. I am advised by your negotiating team, the company routinely refuses to discuss retirement COLAs or the freezing of medical insurance premiums.
As it presently stands, the increased cost caused by your current contract, will at least in part be offset by the annual increases of retirees’ insurance premiums, resulting in a reduced monthly pension check. Currently my Aetna insurance premium accounts for over half of my pension, and as far back as I can remember, it has increased every year. In addition, the co-pay for prescription drugs has increased significantly the last several years.
The message you would be well advised to take from this letter is: Without COLAs included in a retirement contract, don’t rely on your negotiated pension plan to be of significant help down the road. It’s guaranteed the pension amount received will diminish.
John. A. Moll
Snohomish
* enforcement
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