News that striking Machinists could go back to building Boeing airplanes next week prompted a collective sigh of relief in the Puget Sound region.
A walkout that has lasted 53 days will be over if Machinists on Saturday ratify a new four-year contract that has the unanimous backing of their leadership. Perhaps key elements of the deal can serve as a foundation for talks between Boeing and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, which begin today. Averting a strike there, combined with ratification of the Machinists’ contract, would give the regional economy a badly needed boost of confidence.
Early comments from Boeing and its Machinists indicate mutual satisfaction with the agreement. While such talk is typical as the company and union leaders work to encourage rank-and-file support, it rings true. Machinists got healthy pay increases, including generous lump-sum bonuses that will help mitigate wages lost during the strike. Union members’ medical expenses remain flat, a better deal than employees in any other industry are getting these days. Negotiators reached what appears to be a reasonable compromise on outsourcing, with the union getting some job protection and limits on work done by outside vendors, and the company retaining the job flexibility it says it needs to succeed.
Importantly, the contract would run for four years rather than the traditional three, offering the entire region some welcome breathing room between this and the next round of negotiations. We hope the union and the company will use the time to forge a stronger working relationship by recognizing the mutual benefit of being more cooperative than confrontational.
Similarly, the state Legislature must work toward improving the aerospace sector’s long-term prospects here by finding ways to make Washington a more competitive place to do business. Other states, some with significantly lower labor costs and the ability to offer up free land, are eager to lure Boeing’s commercial manufacturing away from Washington. Since our state Constitution prohibits some of the inducements other states can offer, we must compete more aggressively in areas like regulation, taxation and worker training.
Our state mustn’t take for granted the pride we feel being home to the company and workers who build the world’s best commercial jetliners. Come Saturday, though, we’ll just be glad to see a ratified contract so the Boeing team can get back to the work it does so well.
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