Boeing B777 aircraft’s wing and assembling jet airplane jobs in Seattle?
Boeing 777X aircraft’s advanced wing and assembling the jet airplane
will be in Seattle if the Machinists union and Boeing could agree to a
contract deal. If the deal goes through, Washington state would secure
decades of work fabricating the 777X airliner’s advanced wing and
assembling the jet here.
Yet the union is divided and in turmoil over what the company calls its best and final offer. Two distinct, passionate arguments boiled up among the 31,000 local Machinists after their leaders Thursday rejected the revised offer.
One vocal faction, including the local leadership, is dug in, unwilling to give up its hard-won gains from the past by making concessions on pay and benefits.
Another group, including officials from the national headquarters, fears massive job losses within a decade and is ready to endorse the eight-year contract extension to ensure future work.
“People are really looking at this as a make-or-break situation,” said Adam Subitch, 27, a painter on the 777 line in Everett with nearly seven years at Boeing. “This is our livelihood we are talking about. … People are scared.”
On the other end of the age and experience spectrum is Wilson Ferguson, 58, who’s been working at Boeing almost since Subitch was born. The 26-year company veteran, who is president of the union’s Local A and works as a 737 delivery mechanic at Boeing Field, led a militant rally a month ago calling for a no vote on Boeing’s first 777X contract offer. Union members rejected that contract by 2 to 1.
Ferguson dismisses the revised offer and opposes even voting on it. “The primary issue was the pension and that is unchanged from the first proposal,” he said. “Our membership has spoken.”
Ferguson said he’ll balk at giving up the traditional pension, even if it means that 777X is lost and Everett’s economic future evaporates. “I believe Boeing when they say they are going elsewhere … I don’t like it, but it’s ludicrous to put that burden on the hourly workforce,” said Ferguson. “It’s just a bridge too far to ask us to give up our defined benefit-pension plan.”
What’s more, he says, Boeing doesn’t need the help.
Boeing said the offer had not been withdrawn. Meanwhile, Boeing is proceeding with its nationwide site search. Its promise of more than 8,500 high-paying production jobs has drawn bids from 54 locations in 22 states.
Yet the union is divided and in turmoil over what the company calls its best and final offer. Two distinct, passionate arguments boiled up among the 31,000 local Machinists after their leaders Thursday rejected the revised offer.
One vocal faction, including the local leadership, is dug in, unwilling to give up its hard-won gains from the past by making concessions on pay and benefits.
Another group, including officials from the national headquarters, fears massive job losses within a decade and is ready to endorse the eight-year contract extension to ensure future work.
“People are really looking at this as a make-or-break situation,” said Adam Subitch, 27, a painter on the 777 line in Everett with nearly seven years at Boeing. “This is our livelihood we are talking about. … People are scared.”
On the other end of the age and experience spectrum is Wilson Ferguson, 58, who’s been working at Boeing almost since Subitch was born. The 26-year company veteran, who is president of the union’s Local A and works as a 737 delivery mechanic at Boeing Field, led a militant rally a month ago calling for a no vote on Boeing’s first 777X contract offer. Union members rejected that contract by 2 to 1.
Ferguson dismisses the revised offer and opposes even voting on it. “The primary issue was the pension and that is unchanged from the first proposal,” he said. “Our membership has spoken.”
Ferguson said he’ll balk at giving up the traditional pension, even if it means that 777X is lost and Everett’s economic future evaporates. “I believe Boeing when they say they are going elsewhere … I don’t like it, but it’s ludicrous to put that burden on the hourly workforce,” said Ferguson. “It’s just a bridge too far to ask us to give up our defined benefit-pension plan.”
What’s more, he says, Boeing doesn’t need the help.
Boeing said the offer had not been withdrawn. Meanwhile, Boeing is proceeding with its nationwide site search. Its promise of more than 8,500 high-paying production jobs has drawn bids from 54 locations in 22 states.
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