Reject Boeing deal, local Machinists leaders say

Local Machinists union leaders laid out their case in letters mailed Monday to members recommending they vote no next month on the Boeing Co.’s contract proposal.

With the company on winter break until the day before the Jan. 3 vote, union organizers are scrambling to make sure they have the votes to rebuff the offer, which is heavy on concessions from workers. If approved, the company says it will assemble the 777X in Everett and produce the airplane’s wings in the Puget Sound area.

But the letter from leaders of District 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) makes clear that union leaders don’t trust what Boeing executives say.

For example, District 751 leaders said in the letter that Boeing could use language in the contract as a loophole to outsource or subcontract 777X work away from union workers.

The local union leaders also have lost trust in the overall leadership of the IAM — called the “International” because it represents workers in Canada and the U.S.

The letter reminds members “that the International is forcing a vote” on the contract offer. Local union negotiators rejected the offer earlier this month.