SPEEA Opens Contract Talks with Boeing for 18,500 Employees

Negotiations between the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001, and The Boeing Company begin Tuesday, with both sides hoping there won't be a repeat of the machinists strike. That job action idled much of Boeing for weeks and threatened to put a dent in the company's burgeoning bottom line.

Representatives of the news media are invited to photograph the teams when negotiations open on Tuesday. The photo opportunity is scheduled for 0900, Tuesday, near Seattle's SEA-TAC Airport.

The union seeks new contracts for 12,096 engineers and 5,672 technical workers throughout the Puget Sound region, Oregon, Utah and California. SPEEA's Puget Sound contracts expire Dec. 1. A third SPEEA bargaining unit in Wichita, Kansas opens talks Nov. 8 for a contract covering 785 engineers. The Wichita contract expires Dec. 5.

Top issues for SPEEA-represented employees include securing wage increases, improving retirement benefits, maintaining good medical coverage, increasing employment security and enrollment in Boeing's Employee Incentive Plan (EIP).

"I'm optimistic," said Tom McCarty, chair of the SPEEA's Puget Sound Professional Negotiation Team. "We have some tough bargaining ahead, but the company and employees can reach an agreement that works."

Contract negotiations in 2002 for the three units were productive, with 88 percent of the voting members approving the agreements. In 1999, the two Puget Sound bargaining units were on strike for 40 days before an agreement was reached.

"These negotiations give management the opportunity to send a strong message to technical employees around Puget Sound and in Wichita," said Charles Bofferding, SPEEA executive director. "We'll be doing what we can to help them send the right message."

The tentative timeline is for SPEEA to have a complete offer from Boeing management on November 15. The union will then prepare a mail-in ballot package for members. If the timeline holds, the union will count votes in Seattle on Dec. 1 and in Wichita on Dec. 5.

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