Machinists reject Boeing contract offer; 777X is up for grabs
Published 10:04 am Thursday, November 14, 2013
Boeing Machinists overwhelmingly rejected on Wednesday an eight-year contract extension in a vote they say will preserve their pensions and other benefits.
The contract, which Boeing and union leadership negotiated in a short time, was rejected by 67 percent of the 31,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District 751.
In a statement Wednesday night Boeing indicated it would start immediately to open a competitive process to decide where to build the next version of the 777, the 777X, now built in Everett.
The company had offered to forego the competitive process if Machinists agreed to the contract extension.
“Today, the democratic process worked and our members made the decision to not accept the company’s proposal,” said IAM District President Tom Wroblewski in a statement issued Wednesday night.
“It is my belief that we represent the best aerospace workforce in the world and hope that as a result of this vote Boeing will not discard our skills when looking to place the 777X.”
In rejecting the contract proposal, he said Machinists “preserved something sacred.”
“We’ve held on to our pensions and that’s big. At a time when financial planners are talking about a ‘retirement crisis’ in America, we have preserved a tool that will help our members retire with more comfort and dignity.”
In his statement, Ray Conner, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO, said the company is “very disappointed” in the outcome of the union vote.
“Our goal was two-fold: to enable the 777X and its new composite wing to be produced in Puget Sound and to create a competitive structure to ensure that we continue market-leading pay, health care and retirement benefits while preserving jobs and our industrial base here in the region.
“But without the terms of this contract extension, we’re left with no choice but to open the process competitively and pursue all options for the 777X,” he said.
He thanked Gov. Jay Inslee and the Washington state Legislature for their efforts to keep 777X production in Washington state. The legislature last weekend adopted a package of tax incentives for Boeing if it built the 777 and its wings in Washington.
“We had hoped for a different outcome,” he said.
