haha
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I know some people on here have labor/management negotiation experience. I find the recent rejection of a new contract that Boeing claims it needs to build the 777X in Seattle area very odd. Machinists sent it down by a 2/3 majority. They still have a contract in place until 2016, so nobody is hurting right away, and Boeing does not have a gun to it's head.
A big part of the new deal was to be no more DB pensions for new hires; replacement by defined contribution with good matching. I think but am not sure that further contributions toward the accounts of current machinists were to be made to a 401K instead. There was also to be a $10,000 signing bonus.
It has been said that passage of that contract world have kept the 777x line going in Everett for at least a generation. So even very young workers could count on these extremely good blue collar jobs for the rest of their careers, right here at home.
The Democratic governor made pledges of $8.xx bln in tax abatements, and most people expected a yes vote. I saw some interviews with the workers after the vote. Many of them seemed confident that Boeing would return to the table before any definitive steps were taken. They stressed the very rocky experience of the 787 down in North Charleston, and the idea that no one else can build planes with the low error rate of our local plants. But Boeing said not so fast, we are done with negotiations until 2016 when the current contract is up. Meantime we are evaluating all our options. I would expect them to make plans to at least start one line elsewhere, and maybe a bigger commitment before 2016. So any negotiations after that contract is over seems to me would put Boeing in a much stronger position, as the workers might start losing their houses, but airplane building will go on.
I think the Machinists overplayed what was admittedly a good hand- on a contract that the professional engineers had already OK'd. Boeing has been humiliated by the 787 start, the fires, the delays, etc. Therefore corporate needs this new plane to get done on time, and done right. Still, there is Japan, where wings will be made anyway, there is Long Beach with a long history of successful airplane building, there is Texas, and of course South Carolina is learning more every day, and 787 production is not going to leave there.
I also think that Boeing is tired of paying what they consider to be very good salaries and benefits, and still getting held up periodically. If there are better large scale manufacturing jobs any where in the country, I do not know where or how.
I should add that many local businesses have a big stake in seeing planes made here. Not just suppliers, but everything from restaurants to Karate Studios. Puget Sound and especially Seattle will never be the same as they were in the 60s and 70s, but these Boeing jobs are still very important
Comments? How do others, locals and not, see this?
Ha
A big part of the new deal was to be no more DB pensions for new hires; replacement by defined contribution with good matching. I think but am not sure that further contributions toward the accounts of current machinists were to be made to a 401K instead. There was also to be a $10,000 signing bonus.
It has been said that passage of that contract world have kept the 777x line going in Everett for at least a generation. So even very young workers could count on these extremely good blue collar jobs for the rest of their careers, right here at home.
The Democratic governor made pledges of $8.xx bln in tax abatements, and most people expected a yes vote. I saw some interviews with the workers after the vote. Many of them seemed confident that Boeing would return to the table before any definitive steps were taken. They stressed the very rocky experience of the 787 down in North Charleston, and the idea that no one else can build planes with the low error rate of our local plants. But Boeing said not so fast, we are done with negotiations until 2016 when the current contract is up. Meantime we are evaluating all our options. I would expect them to make plans to at least start one line elsewhere, and maybe a bigger commitment before 2016. So any negotiations after that contract is over seems to me would put Boeing in a much stronger position, as the workers might start losing their houses, but airplane building will go on.
I think the Machinists overplayed what was admittedly a good hand- on a contract that the professional engineers had already OK'd. Boeing has been humiliated by the 787 start, the fires, the delays, etc. Therefore corporate needs this new plane to get done on time, and done right. Still, there is Japan, where wings will be made anyway, there is Long Beach with a long history of successful airplane building, there is Texas, and of course South Carolina is learning more every day, and 787 production is not going to leave there.
I also think that Boeing is tired of paying what they consider to be very good salaries and benefits, and still getting held up periodically. If there are better large scale manufacturing jobs any where in the country, I do not know where or how.
I should add that many local businesses have a big stake in seeing planes made here. Not just suppliers, but everything from restaurants to Karate Studios. Puget Sound and especially Seattle will never be the same as they were in the 60s and 70s, but these Boeing jobs are still very important
Comments? How do others, locals and not, see this?
Ha
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