777X In Danger: Machinists Reject Boeing Contract [View all]
Source: KUOW Puget Sound/Seattle
Boeing’s machinists have rejected the company’s proposed contract, with 67 percent of union members opposed.
Members said they are calling the aerospace giant’s bluff – they expect the company to renegotiate the contract deal instead of building the 777X jet somewhere else. At least 20,000 area Boeing jobs are at stake. The vote, which was closely watched by state lawmakers, was about more than just compensation for the 31,000 machinists. Boeing had repeatedly threatened that it would move production of the 777X out of state if the machinists didn't approve the contract.
Under the proposed eight-year contract, Boeing would stop contributing to the machinists’ pensions in 2016, and workers’ health care costs would increase. If the machinists had approved the contract, they would have received a $10,000 bonus by the holidays.
Whether the company was bluffing ahead of the vote was difficult to gauge. The machinists in the Puget Sound region are highly skilled, a fact highlighted by the delays and technical problems that turned the 787 Dreamliner – built in South Carolina – into a public relations nightmare.
Read more: http://kuow.org/post/777x-danger-machinists-reject-boeing-contract
I'm proud of the union members who refused individual bribes/"bonuses" of $10,000 each to vote against a contract which stripped them of their pensions & jacked up health care costs. Boeing is in deep shit in the operation it moved to South Carolina with masses of untrained, unskilled workers, costs overrides, canceled contracts, etc.
Airbus is beating Boeing's ass in recent sales and is considering opening an operation in Washington state to take advantage of the wealth of experienced workers shafted by Boeing.
http://www.kplu.org/post/will-airbus-build-engineering-center-washington-state
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