New deal includes $7,000 ratification bonus, enhanced retirement contributions. Offer could end month-old strike
Oct 19 (Reuters) - Striking machinists at Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab will vote Wednesday on a new contract proposal that includes a 35% pay hike over four years that could end a costly five-week-old strike, the company and union said Saturday. Around 33,000 of Boeing's unionized West Coast workers, most in Washington state, have been on strike since Sept. 13. The work stoppage has halted production of the plane maker's best-selling 737 MAX and its 767 and 777 widebodies, putting added pressure on the company's already fragile finances.
The latest offer includes a $7,000 ratification bonus, reinstated incentive plan and enhanced contributions to workers' 401(k) retirement plans including a one-time $5,000 contribution plus up to 12% in employer contributions, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 751 said.
Boeing said Saturday it looks "forward to our employees voting on the negotiated proposal." Still there is no guarantee workers will approve the offer after they overwhelmingly rejected an initial proposal. "The future of this contract is in your hands," the union told workers Saturday.
Earlier in the week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce pleaded on social media site X for the two sides to reach an agreement that would put an end to the stoppage, which is rippling through the industry, leading Boeing suppliers like Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N), opens new tab to announce furloughs.
Boeing on Oct. 8 withdrew its enhanced offer that included a 30% wage increase over four years, after talks also attended by federal mediators broke down. The union has been seeking a 40% hike and restoration of a defined benefit pension, which was not offered in the new contract proposal.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers is one of North America's largest and most diverse industrial trade unions, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries.
There are 77,000 Machinists working in the US. These workers are classified as “Machinists” by BLS and are doing traditional Machinist work.
US Machinist Pay
10% 25% 50%
75% 90%
$16.21 $18.79 $23.32
$29.27 $34.53
Machinist pay id based on skill and experience.
Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce
precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument
makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate
and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial
machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties,
layout, and machining procedures. Machinists who primarily program or operate
computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment are classified in “Computer
Numerically Controlled Tool Operators and Programmers” (51-9160).
https://www.bls.gov/oes/2022/may/oes514041.htm
Boeing has been in trouble for decades. J Edwards Deming proved that you can’t “inspect” your way to quality.
Boeing announces immediate actions to
strengthen quality
Jan 15, 2024: In a message to employees, Boeing
Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stan Deal announced immediate actions
the company is taking to bolster quality assurance and controls in 737
production.
"As we continue to respond to the Alaska Airlines Flight
1282 accident, our team has been working with the five affected airlines to
inspect their 737-9 fleet. They have been examining and collecting measurements
around the mid-exit door plugs to ensure they are installed per specifications.
While we complete these tasks to earn Federal Aviation
Administration approval to unground the affected 737-9s, our team is also
taking a hard look at our quality practices in our factories and across our
production system.
We have taken important steps in recent years to strengthen our
Quality Management System’s (QMS) foundation and its layers of protection. But,
the AS1282 accident and recent customer findings make clear that we are not
where we need to be. To that end, we are taking immediate actions to bolster
quality assurance and controls across our factories.
- More quality inspections: We are planning additional inspections throughout
the build process at Boeing and at Spirit. These checks will provide one
more layer of scrutiny on top of the thousands of inspections performed
today across each 737 airplane, and build on the reviews we have
implemented to catch potential non-conformances. Since 2019, we have
increased the number of Commercial Airplanes quality inspectors by 20% and
we plan to make more investments in the Quality function.
- Team sessions on quality: We are planning additional sessions for our teams
to gather and refocus on the fundamentals of our QMS, take advantage of
our expanded training programs, and recommit to improving quality and
compliance.
- Boeing review of Spirit work: We have deployed a team to work alongside Spirit
AeroSystems to complement the existing teammates on the ground. Our team
is now inspecting Spirit’s installation of the mid-exit door plug and
approving them before the fuselage section can be shipped to Boeing. We
are also inspecting more than 50 other points in Spirit’s build process
and assessing their build plans against engineering specifications.
- Airline oversight inspections: We are opening our factories to 737 operators for
additional oversight inspections to review our production and quality
procedures. Spirit will do the same and we will learn from our customers’
insights and findings.
- Independent assessment: An outside party will be brought in to thoroughly
review the Quality Management System at Commercial Airplanes and suggest
further improvements.
And as we prepare new 737-9s for delivery, we will conduct the
same thorough inspections of the mid-exit door plugs as mandated by the FAA.
Customer representatives will continue to have access to anything they want to
see onboard their airplane before delivery.
These actions are separate from the FAA’s investigation and the
agency’s plan to increase oversight of 737-9 production. We will cooperate
fully and transparently with both as we work to restore trust with our
regulator and our customers. And as the National Transportation Safety Board’s
investigation proceeds, we will take additional steps to improve our practices
as the facts and findings dictate.
Everything we do must conform to the requirements in our QMS.
Anything less is unacceptable. It is through this standard that we must operate
to provide our customers and their passengers complete confidence in Boeing
airplanes. Let each one of us take personal accountability and recommit
ourselves to this important work."
Stan
Comments
The “Machinists” at Boeing are reported as members of the “Machinist Union” Some may really be “Machinists”, but are also “Assemblers” of very complex equipment.
The problems Boeing is having are attributable to their lack of control over their manufacturing operations. At Boeing, the manufacturing operations are performed by members of the “Machinist Union”. Boeings problems are due to hiring CEOs over the past decades who had no Boeing Experience and who concentrated on hurried shipment and reducing Engineering Support to manufacturing.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea
Party Leader
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