It’s not our father’s world, nor his Boeing

Labor negotiations, like so many tussles in a free society, are rarely pretty. The current mess involving the Boeing Co. and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers is a case in point, but it goes beyond that. It’s an illustration of just how severely the world’s business winds have shifted.

The current economic climate, characterized by recession, layoffs and a downturn in the airline industry that could lead to major restructuring, has led to hardened positions on both sides. Indeed, this negotiation is a historic showdown, with the power of both the union and company at stake.

So it’s not surprising that as the current contract reaches its expiration date today, the tone of the debate has become particularly nasty.

While the sides are far apart on benefit issues — pensions and healthcare — the central stumbling block appears to be job security. The benefit issues are the stuff of traditional collective bargaining, and the company should show more willingness to move on them. The job-security issue, however, has both sides digging in their heels. How it gets resolved will go a long way toward determining how effectively Boeing can do business in the 21st century.

This isn’t your father’s world, and it can’t be your father’s Boeing anymore.

Many of Boeing’s best customers are in desperate shape. US Airways has filed for bankruptcy protection, and United Airlines may soon do the same. Both are seeking huge concessions from their own unions, including the IAM. Boeing’s chief competitor, Airbus, has wrested away market share with attractive pricing. Like so many companies in other industries, Boeing has been forced by market realities into an ongoing process of cutting costs and improving efficiency. The 30,000 Boeing workers laid off in the past year can speak to the human toll these realities exact.

Given all this, one kind of job security the union is seeking — tying employment levels to revenue or production orders — is unrealistic. Today’s successful companies must be nimble, able to control costs while responding to ever-changing market conditions. Employment-level guarantees would unreasonably hamper that ability.

Some Machinists have identified Wall Street as an evil force lurking behind the scenes, demanding ever-greater profits. Well, here’s another new reality: Wall Street is not a bunch of faceless fat cats. It’s all of us who have retirement and other savings invested in mutual funds, many of which include Boeing stock. We’re all dependent on the ability of companies like Boeing to remain successful in a changing world.

Those who resent the Machinists for trying to get more in collective bargaining even though they’re already ahead of most area workers in pay and benefits are misguided. Good-paying jobs are critical to any community’s success, and Boeing’s Machinists give plenty back in the form of spending and generous contributions to charity. It’s every American’s right to work toward the best deal they can get from their employer.

Still, union members must face market realities. Good jobs will remain at Boeing only as long as the company is successful. Job guarantees like the union is seeking would put a potentially lethal drag on Boeing’s competitiveness. And with the current state of the airline industry, the union has little leverage in making this demand.

Union members would be wise to accept this sooner than later, focusing instead on the best package of pay, benefits and work rules they can get.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, Feb. 12

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

CNA Nina Prigodich, right, goes through restorative exercises with long term care patient Betty Long, 86, at Nightingale's View Ridge Care Center on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Boost state Medicaid funding for long-term care

With more in need of skilled nursing and assisted-living services, funding must keep up to retain staff.

Welch: State Democrats’ bill would undermine parental rights

The bill would allow kids as young as 13 to make mental health decisions without notice to parents.

Kristof: Child malnutrition lost in politics over aid cuts

A young journalist describes the scene in Madagascar where a nutritious porridge provides a lifeline.

Comment: Trump sticks with NOAA official who bent to his ego

We haven’t seen the last of Trump’s Sharpie-amended reality and it’s destabilizing effect on scientists.

Dowd: Musk’s ‘Lost Boys’ join Trump’s ‘Mean Girls’ ethic to gut it all

Neither man shows any concern for the damage they threaten against individuals here and abroad.

bar graph, pie chart and diagrams isolated on white, 3d illustration
Editorial: Don’t let state’s budget numbers intimidate you

With budget discussions starting soon, a new website explains the basics of state’s budget crisis.

Curtains act as doors for a handful of classrooms at Glenwood Elementary on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Schools’ building needs point to election reform

Construction funding requests in Arlington and Lake Stevens show need for a change to bond elections.

FILE- In this Nov. 14, 2017, file photo Jaìme Ceja operates a forklift while loading boxes of Red Delicious apples on to a trailer during his shift in an orchard in Tieton, Wash. Cherry and apple growers in Washington state are worried their exports to China will be hurt by a trade war that escalated on Monday when that country raised import duties on a $3 billion list of products. (Shawn Gust/Yakima Herald-Republic via AP, File)
Editorial: Trade war would harm state’s consumers, jobs

Trump’s threat of tariffs to win non-trade concessions complicates talks, says a state trade advocate.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Tuesday, Feb. 11

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Sentencing reforms more complicated than column described

I read Todd Welch’s Jan. 29 column. He is certainly entitled to… Continue reading

President Trump running nation like his failed businesses

We’ve seen it before; President Trump will do or say anything to… Continue reading

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.