29-10-2009, 05:34 AM
http://www.seattlepi.com/business/411636...ource=mypi
Machinists: We offered Boeing 10-year, no-strike deal
'Betrayed': Workers say Boeing move union-busting, and bad business
By LEVI PULKKINEN and SCOTT GUTIERREZ
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Reardon and Machinist
Joshua Trujillo / P-I
EVERETT -- Wandering his union's parking lot across the street from Everett's Paine Field, Charlie Grieser clutched his paper coffee cup as he waded through the news crews toward Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon.
Grieser, a Machinists Union member who has been putting airliners together for 32 years at the Boeing Co. plant, didn't need any caffeine to shake off the fall chill. He was fired up by, in his view, his employer's betrayal.
Boeing already took billions in tax credits and handouts, Grieser told Reardon. Now, the company is taking the jobs promised by the 787 program and leaving Washington workers and taxpayers high and dry.
"They were given that money to build the 787 here, not half the 787 here," Grieser said after speaking to Reardon. "I think this is going to poison all of the state on Boeing."
That even half the assembly jobs associated with Boeing's first 21st Century commercial jet might remain in the state remained in question Wednesday evening as the perceived betrayal shook union halls around the Puget Sound. The company's move, at least in the eyes of leaders and members of the unions representing Boeing workers, smacked of union-busting and poor business sense.
Boeing, Machinists' Union district president Tom Wroblewski said, had "betrayed" Washington state's loyalty and used talks over a long-term, no-strike labor contract to leverage a better deal from South Carolina for the second 787 final assembly plant.
"It's now clear that Boeing was only using our talks as a smokescreen, and as a bargaining chip to extort a bigger tax handout from South Carolina," Wroblewski said during a news conference at the union hall in South Park.
Wroblewski said the union offered a 10-year, no-strike contract and was willing to discuss a longer agreement to get Boeing to commit to locating the second 787 line in Everett. Boeing never made any proposals and seemed "stunned" by the union's offer.
"It was obvious to me that Boeing wasn't really interested in working with us," he said. "They didn't take our proposal seriously and they never offered any proposals of their own."
Wroblewski said the Machinists Union was integral to persuading state lawmakers in 2003 to approve $3.2 billion in tax incentives to get the company to put the first 787 production line and related jobs in Washington.
Ray Goforth, executive director for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), said by his reading of the Boeing statement, the Everett 787 line could close as soon as the company gets through the backlog of orders for the delay-plagued plane.
The program is currently years behind schedule, in part because of problems with a worldwide supply chain Boeing hoped to pioneer with the airliner, and, the company claims, a seven-week Machinists Union strike in 2008. Goforth claimed the company is already $12 billion in the red for the plane and likely won't start turning a profit until 800 to 1,000 have been built and sold.
Adding a new supply chain in a region without an established commercial airplane manufacturing base can only slow the process further, Goforth argued.
In a statement Wednesday, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Jim Albaugh said that establishing the North Charleston line "will expand (Boeing's) production capacity to meet the market demand for the airplane."
Parsing that statement, Goforth, the SPEEA head, argued that Boeing intends to move the majority of production to the South Carolina site as soon as it can do so.
Speaking following the announcement, Goforth said he believes the Boeing decision isn't just bad for Washington workers but for the company as a whole.
Describing South Carolina as "a pit that Boeing is going to be throwing money and people into for a long time," Goforth also disputed claims by some that the Seattle work force would simply shift to South Carolina.
While some may, Goforth said the engineers represented by SPEEA could just as easily move out of Boeing to other aerospace firms offering better benefits in more attractive locations. He also questioned whether South Carolina -- a state with the third-worst high school graduation rate in the nation, according to a recent Education Week analysis -- has enough educated workers to serve the plant.
Without any clear economic argument for the change, Goforth said he's left to assume Boeing management was motivated by an interest in scaring or shedding its union employees.
"I think it's part of a much bigger anti-union strategy," Goforth said. "I think they had already decided to do this and it was a way to land a mortal blow on the Machinists and to cow the other unions."
Boeing reportedly preferred South Carolina due to the effects of recent Machinists' strikes. Workers at the South Carolina plant recently voted to remove the union from the North Charleston plant.
Boeing reportedly plans to open a "surge line" at its Paine Field plant to create additional capacity for assembly of the 787 during the next year or two while the South Carolina plant is brought on line. Wroblewski, the Machinists' Union head, said the state needs to ensure that Boeing does just that, despite its decision.
"We need to move forward. They're not going to pick up everything and move next week," Wroblewski said. "We need to fight for every single job and we will."
For Washingtonians, Goforth said, Wednesday's decision should kill a misconception about today's Boeing Co.: The homegrown company that started by making wooden seaplanes is dead and gone.
"People here may still think fondly of Boeing, but Boeing stopped thinking of them as family a decade ago," Goforth said. "This is one of the largest corporations on the planet, and they don't care about the people here."
Machinists: We offered Boeing 10-year, no-strike deal
'Betrayed': Workers say Boeing move union-busting, and bad business
By LEVI PULKKINEN and SCOTT GUTIERREZ
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Reardon and Machinist
Joshua Trujillo / P-I
EVERETT -- Wandering his union's parking lot across the street from Everett's Paine Field, Charlie Grieser clutched his paper coffee cup as he waded through the news crews toward Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon.
Grieser, a Machinists Union member who has been putting airliners together for 32 years at the Boeing Co. plant, didn't need any caffeine to shake off the fall chill. He was fired up by, in his view, his employer's betrayal.
Boeing already took billions in tax credits and handouts, Grieser told Reardon. Now, the company is taking the jobs promised by the 787 program and leaving Washington workers and taxpayers high and dry.
"They were given that money to build the 787 here, not half the 787 here," Grieser said after speaking to Reardon. "I think this is going to poison all of the state on Boeing."
That even half the assembly jobs associated with Boeing's first 21st Century commercial jet might remain in the state remained in question Wednesday evening as the perceived betrayal shook union halls around the Puget Sound. The company's move, at least in the eyes of leaders and members of the unions representing Boeing workers, smacked of union-busting and poor business sense.
Boeing, Machinists' Union district president Tom Wroblewski said, had "betrayed" Washington state's loyalty and used talks over a long-term, no-strike labor contract to leverage a better deal from South Carolina for the second 787 final assembly plant.
"It's now clear that Boeing was only using our talks as a smokescreen, and as a bargaining chip to extort a bigger tax handout from South Carolina," Wroblewski said during a news conference at the union hall in South Park.
Wroblewski said the union offered a 10-year, no-strike contract and was willing to discuss a longer agreement to get Boeing to commit to locating the second 787 line in Everett. Boeing never made any proposals and seemed "stunned" by the union's offer.
"It was obvious to me that Boeing wasn't really interested in working with us," he said. "They didn't take our proposal seriously and they never offered any proposals of their own."
Wroblewski said the Machinists Union was integral to persuading state lawmakers in 2003 to approve $3.2 billion in tax incentives to get the company to put the first 787 production line and related jobs in Washington.
Ray Goforth, executive director for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), said by his reading of the Boeing statement, the Everett 787 line could close as soon as the company gets through the backlog of orders for the delay-plagued plane.
The program is currently years behind schedule, in part because of problems with a worldwide supply chain Boeing hoped to pioneer with the airliner, and, the company claims, a seven-week Machinists Union strike in 2008. Goforth claimed the company is already $12 billion in the red for the plane and likely won't start turning a profit until 800 to 1,000 have been built and sold.
Adding a new supply chain in a region without an established commercial airplane manufacturing base can only slow the process further, Goforth argued.
In a statement Wednesday, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Jim Albaugh said that establishing the North Charleston line "will expand (Boeing's) production capacity to meet the market demand for the airplane."
Parsing that statement, Goforth, the SPEEA head, argued that Boeing intends to move the majority of production to the South Carolina site as soon as it can do so.
Speaking following the announcement, Goforth said he believes the Boeing decision isn't just bad for Washington workers but for the company as a whole.
Describing South Carolina as "a pit that Boeing is going to be throwing money and people into for a long time," Goforth also disputed claims by some that the Seattle work force would simply shift to South Carolina.
While some may, Goforth said the engineers represented by SPEEA could just as easily move out of Boeing to other aerospace firms offering better benefits in more attractive locations. He also questioned whether South Carolina -- a state with the third-worst high school graduation rate in the nation, according to a recent Education Week analysis -- has enough educated workers to serve the plant.
Without any clear economic argument for the change, Goforth said he's left to assume Boeing management was motivated by an interest in scaring or shedding its union employees.
"I think it's part of a much bigger anti-union strategy," Goforth said. "I think they had already decided to do this and it was a way to land a mortal blow on the Machinists and to cow the other unions."
Boeing reportedly preferred South Carolina due to the effects of recent Machinists' strikes. Workers at the South Carolina plant recently voted to remove the union from the North Charleston plant.
Boeing reportedly plans to open a "surge line" at its Paine Field plant to create additional capacity for assembly of the 787 during the next year or two while the South Carolina plant is brought on line. Wroblewski, the Machinists' Union head, said the state needs to ensure that Boeing does just that, despite its decision.
"We need to move forward. They're not going to pick up everything and move next week," Wroblewski said. "We need to fight for every single job and we will."
For Washingtonians, Goforth said, Wednesday's decision should kill a misconception about today's Boeing Co.: The homegrown company that started by making wooden seaplanes is dead and gone.
"People here may still think fondly of Boeing, but Boeing stopped thinking of them as family a decade ago," Goforth said. "This is one of the largest corporations on the planet, and they don't care about the people here."