Look For Division Between Military And Commercial Units

The Boeing sign still adorns the huge plant on the east side of Tulsa International Airport's main runway, but it may not for much longer. And as that sign comes down, unions that represent workers inside the plant will have to make some changes as well.

As ANN has extensively reported, Boeing wants to sell its commercial plants in Tulsa and McAlester, OK, as well as its commercial operation in Wichita, KS. The sale is said to be imminent, and there is no shortage of angst in both Oklahoma and Kansas.

Now, leaders of the four unions representing workers at the three plants say company officials are telling them to be ready to renegotiate their contracts. The unions will probably have to split their bargaining teams into two separate entities -- one to represent military workers (Boeing's military operations aren't for sale) and one to represent the commercial workers.

That idea doesn't thrill SPEEA. "We just went through negotiations," said Bob Brewer, who heads up the union's Midwest division. "I believe personally there are too many transition issues to worry about right now without sitting down and going through a negotiation process with several unions here in Wichita."

Boeing had reportedly been in intense negotiations with GKN, a British company with close ties to the aerospace giant. However, as ANN reported earlier this month, GKN has withdrawn from negotiations and has perhaps been replaced by the Canadian firm Onex.

Union leaders say a sale is imminent. Boeing says it should happen by the end of the year.

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