Machinists narrowly accept Boeing proposal

Machinists Union members in Seattle have voted to accept the Boeing Co.’s proposed 8-year contract with a 51% yes vote, the union's local leader announced late on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014.

 

“Our members have spoken and this is the course we’ll take,” said Tom Wroblewski, the president of Machinists Union District Lodge 751, which represents more than 30,000 hourly workers at Boeing plants in Puget Sound.

 

The decision means Boeing will stop seeking alternate sites for its 777X aircraft program, the latest version of its best-selling widebody jet, and start preparations to start final assembly and wing fabrication in Puget Sound.

 

The union’s goal in coming years will be to fight to ensure Boeing lives up to its commitment to its workforce and keeps jobs in Washington state, Wroblewski said.

 

The vote to accept the contract came even though Wroblewski and the District 751 leadership team had unanimously recommended that union members reject Boeing’s offer, which included steep concessions on retirement and health care benefits and limits on future wage growth.

 

“All along we knew that our members wanted to build the 777X, and that it was in Boeing’s best interest to have them do it,” he said. “We recommended that our members reject the offer because we felt that the cost was too high, in terms of our lost pensions and the thousands of dollars in additional health care costs we’ll have to pay each year.

 

“Now, it’s up to all of us now to pull together to make this airplane program successful. I’m confident we will do that, because as we’ve said all along, this is the most-skilled aerospace workforce in the world.”

 

Shortly after the union's announcement, Boeing officials issued a statement on the IAM 751 contract extension vote confirming that 777X work will be performed in the greater Seattle, Wash., area:

 

Boeing's contract extension offer was approved today by members of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers District 751 (IAM). Under the terms of the 8-year contract extension, the 777X and its composite wing will be built in the Puget Sound area by Boeing employees represented by the IAM. This work includes fuselage build, final assembly, and major components fabrication such as interiors and wires.

 

"Thanks to this vote by our employees, the future of Boeing in the Puget Sound region has never looked brighter," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner. "We're proud to say that together, we'll build the world's next great airplane – the 777X and its new wing – right here. This will put our workforce on the cutting edge of composite technology, while sustaining thousands of local jobs for years to come."