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<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Orlando De Los Santos (front) counts SPEEA members' votes Monday night in Tukwila. Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) SPEEA member Dave Cockrill carries a pile of ballots back to his desk Monday night in Tukwila.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, December 2, 2008 SPEEA workers OK Boeing's contract offer Plane maker can now focus on reaching delayed milestones By Michelle Dunlop Herald Writer EVERETT -- The Boeing Co. received a Christmas wish early when its engineers union voted Monday to accept the company's contract. Members of the Society of Engineering Employees in Aerospace have accepted a deal that provides greater union involvement in outsourcing discussions as well as guaranteed raises in each year of the four-year contract and continued participation in an incentive plan. The contract was approved by 79 percent of SPEEA's engineers and 69 percent of the technical workers. Specific numbers weren't available at press time. Only a simple majority was required. "Passage of these contracts represents a first step in restoring the relationship between Boeing management and its engineering and technical work force," said Ray Goforth, SPEEA's executive director. Doug Kight, Boeing's lead negotiator, said the contracts "reward our employees for the valuable contributions they make to Boeing's success." The vote allows Boeing to continue ironing out the wrinkles in its jet production schedule after a 57-day walkout by members of its Machinists union. After the Machinists returned to work, Boeing announced that it would push back the deliveries of its new 777 Freighter and 747-8 jumbo jet as a result of the work stoppage. The company also said the first flight of its 787 Dreamliner would not take place this year. SPEEA shared many of the Machinists' concerns: outsourcing, wages and pension, health care and union representation. But SPEEA leaders believed Boeing met their demands and urged members to accept Boeing's offer. Boeing's reliance on its global partners on its new 787 led to setbacks on the fast-selling, fuel-efficient jet. SPEEA members in the Puget Sound region have worked long hours to fix engineering flaws, fueling resentment among engineers who warned the company against outsourcing, Ray Goforth, SPEEA's executive director said in a previous interview. The company has acknowledged that it had put too much responsibility in its partners' hands in terms of engineering the effort. Mike Denton, Boeing's vice president of engineering, said already that the company pulled design work back from 787 partners both for the 787-8 and the 787-9 models. And Boeing likely will do things differently for its next all-new aircraft. "We really think we need to own some part of major production," Denton said. Under the new contract, engineers will receive extra compensation for the next two years for working more than 144 hours of overtime per quarter. SPEEA estimates nearly 25 percent of its engineers regularly exceed the 144-hour mark. As it did with the Machinists, Boeing gave up its effort to eliminate its traditional pension plan, offering it to new employees in lieu of a 401(k) type retirement program. And the company backed off its intent to eliminate about 100 engineers in Utah from the Puget Sound area bargaining unit. "This agreement provides market-competitive pay and benefits that enable us to attract and retain the best talent, remain on the leading edge of technology and continue to win business in uncertain times," said Boeing's Kight. SPEEA's Goforth called the contract a "good" offer. However, it isn't the kind of contract that will unite members in support of the company, he said. Boeing had the opportunity to show SPEEA members how valuable they are to the company but failed to do so, Goforth said. The company would have made engineers and technical workers happier had it either agreed to a defined cost of living adjustment or increased vacation time, he said. The global financial meltdown may have played a role in how SPEEA members voted, Goforth said. Many SPEEA engineers and technical workers voiced criticism of the offer on blogs. SPEEA, which represents roughly 20,500 members in this contract, has gone on strike against Boeing only twice since organizing in 1946. The union's last strike, in 2000, lasted 40 days. Without a potential strike hanging over its head, Boeing can focus on making several milestones next year: the 787's first flight, delivering the first 777 Freighter and getting the 747-8 on track. Boeing and SPEEA are in contract negotiations for members in Wichita, Kan. The company announced last month that it will eliminate next year about 800 positions at Wichita facility, where employees work on defense projects. Boeing also warned of additional employment cutbacks next year but hasn't specified how its commercial division will be affected. READER COMMENTS Log in or register to post new comment | Log out Boeing wins again By going for a four year contract- and not bothering to even demand the fine print- SPEEA has thrown away the best chance they will ever have to stand up to the company. Thus the hidden gotchas will once again be found out too late. Granted, times are uncertain, and while one can understand why the majority would vote to accept- It is puzzling why the engineers were so evenly divide re the strike authorization. Probably cuz they have no confidence in the SPEEA leadership to do the right thing. Of course BA wanted to keep the older engineers on longer instead of bailing out at the first real chance- and the whack everyone took on their 401ks pretty much assured that. However, BA was asked to allow lump sum payouts for anyone vested, which would be a plus for the newbies. Since BA apparently would not allow that, they may have just shot themselves collectively in the foot- since the current plan essentially requires that be there for 25 to 30 years before any payout of consequence is possible. Times have changed - and its a good bet that the already tight market for new blood in aerospace will just get worse. .. It certainly will not be helped by BA mis-management As to Boeing Bored of Directionless - dont hold your breath for them to hold McNearney and Kight and Carson accountable- except to reduce slightly the planned xx percent raise this year to lower single digits. meaning the mis management will have to do with a little bit less real cream on their cheesecake. D S | Dec 2, 2008 10:57 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal WAGE INCREASES I'd like to go on record about those so called wage increases all the media is talking about. We DID NOT get the 5% they're saying on all of the news channels and in all of the newspapers. Rather if you read the information on SPEEA's website our "guaranteed" wage increase is ONLY one half of that 2.5%. The rest of it is earned through your hard work and whether or not your boss likes you or not. So please, all of you media people, tell it like it really is and don't distort the facts........ Terry Taylor | Dec 2, 2008 7:47 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal (No heading) From what I've been hearing, it was an economic decision, not satisfaction w/ the contract that drove the vote. Too many uncertains, too much animosity from the company after the return of the machinists, possibility of layoffs. I would still like to know, at what point will the company's board stand up and ask for some accountability from McNerney and friends for how they are mismanagement this nearly century old company? CC At the Big B | Dec 2, 2008 12:34 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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