Next Meeting Planned For Wednesday

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) issued a statement Friday on the labor negotiations between the Boeing Company and the Society for Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA).

"In response to a request from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the representatives of the Boeing Company and Society for Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace have agreed to meet on Wednesday, February 27 under the auspices of FMCS to explore settlement options for a new collective bargaining agreement," the statement said. "Due to the sensitive nature of these discussions, FMCS will have no further comment." 

Professional engineers represented by SPEEA last week approved a contract with the planemaker, but technical employees rejected the company's best-and-final offer and authorized a strike.

"Our goal throughout this entire process was to make sure SPEEA-represented employees were rewarded for the contributions they bring to this company every single day," said Ray Conner, president and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in a statement last week. "We believe this offer leads the market in every way."

"The realities of the market require us to make changes so we can invest in new products and keep winning in this competitive environment, which will allow us to continue to provide a solid future for our team. That's why our proposal to move future hires to an enhanced 401(k)-style retirement plan is so important, as we have repeatedly emphasized over the course of these negotiations," said Conner. "Now more than ever is the time to move forward together."

FMI: www.speea.org, www.boeing.com