Now Boeing and IAM 751 can get on with the business of building airplanes without distractions.
Here are several stories on the day after the historic IAM-Boeing contract vote. The importance of the success of this vote cannot be understated.
CNBC interview with Jim Albaugh.
Seattle Times, with comments from IAM 751 president Tom Wroblewski.
MACHINISTS VOTE FOR JOBS!
SEATTLE – Machinists Union members have approved a four-year contract extension with the Boeing Co. that ensures the 737 MAX will be built in Puget Sound.
The final vote was 74 percent to accept the extension, union officers said. More than 31,000 union members in Washington, Oregon, Kansas and California were eligible to vote.
“This agreement represents a historic moment in changing the relationship between this union and the Boeing Co.,” said Tom Wroblewski, the president of Machinists Union District Lodge 751 in Seattle. “For the first time, company executives are committing to you to keep work in Puget Sound.”
“This agreement shows the collective bargaining process is flexible enough to adjust with the times,” said Wroblewski. “The process allowed us to be creative and produce a win-win for everyone – our members, Boeing, airline customers, and the community. This is a vote of confidence for job security and a stronger future for this region.”
The agreement extends the current contract, which was set to expire in September 2012, another four years.
The biggest benefit to the contract was the commitment to job security, Wroblewski said.
“As a result of this vote, we have the strongest commitment to the future of aerospace jobs in Washington State that we’ve ever had,” he said.
The new contract also creates a new, top-level joint council of union and company leaders that will meet monthly to pursue opportunities and work together to solve problems.
“This committee has agreed to four mutual objectives, and first among them is this: creating and sustaining good-paying jobs with benefits,” Wroblewski said. “Thanks to your vote on this contract extension, that now is one of the Boeing Co.’s stated goals.”
Under the terms of the extended contract, Machinists will receive:
2-percent wage increases in each year of the contract, plus additional cost-of-living adjustments;\
A new incentive plan that will pay out up to 4 percent each year;
Increases to the formula for calculating pensions, plus a continuation of the current 401(k) savings plan with a company match, plus a commitment to preserving pensions for new hires;
A $5,000 ratification bonus, which will be paid on Dec. 15.
In exchange, union members agreed to pay higher medical premiums starting in 2013.
Boeing and the Machinists Union have clashed in the past, Wroblewski acknowledged. But with the ratification of the contract extension, the two sides are now committed to working together.
“It’ll be a big shift; that we both need to embrace. But we must do this,” he said. “Because it’s obvious that we as union members cannot prosper if the Boeing Co. isn’t successful, and we’ve seen quite clearly that Boeing’s success is tied directly to the skills and experience of our Machinists Union members.”
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We’re at the IAM HQ in South Seattle for the vote on the historic IAM-Boeing contract. Seattle and Auburn votes being counted, and eye-balling the piles, it appears the contract is passing 2-1.
Results will be announced between 8-9 pm.
Follow us on Twitter @leehamnews for updates this evening.
7:30pm: It appears Yes votes gaining ground. Appears better than 2-1 now.
7:35pm: It’s subdued here at IAM HQ as votes are counted. One IAM official predicted at least a 75% yes vote, but others are more cautious out of innate conservatism.
8:00pm: IAM estimating announcing results around 8:30. Oregon and Kansas votes are in but no idea of the count.
Posted on Twitter a short time ago:
This just in:
Busted. We’re a big fan of the Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters. In the warped sense of humor department, we found this to be pretty amusing, since nobody got hurt.
Original Post:
TSA: Anyone who has flown in the US knows that the airport experience is probably the worst part of traveling. It’s worse than the abominable on-board service now provided by most US airlines. It’s worse than the crowded airplanes and the cramped legroom. TSA’s use of body x-ray machines is invasive. The 3-1-1 rule about liquids is absurd and the requirement to remove shoes before going through magnometers is silly.
In Europe, the body x-ray machines we’ve been through (and we had no choice for an alternative method) are less objectionable. The particular machine at Delta’s Amsterdam connecting gate was a stick figure, not an x-ray of the body itself. The stick figure shows dots where “something” appears and the security person did a quick pat-down of these locations. Much less invasive than the TSA. And the shoes stayed on. This actually was the first body scanner we went through since they were introduced and because it was a stick figure, we had no objection.
Business Week has this article talking about the TSA and its silly policies.
Boeing spent billions designing the 787 (we’re thinking only of the standard expense here, not the overruns) to dramatically improve the passenger experience, and it did a very good job. And Boeing is spending lots of money to aid airlines in training, to reduce in-flight fuel expenses and to improve the air traffic management systems.
Too bad it can’t control what the airlines do with the interior, but even that isn’t the real challenge: it’s the airport experience.
AirInsight has these two podcasts about the grand labor deal announced Wednesday between Boeing and the IAM.
Airbus A350: Aspire Aviation in Hong Kong has a lengthy look at the Airbus A350 program.
Airbus launch aid: Airbus says it has complied with the findings of the World Trade Organization and cured those elements found to be illegal. It calls on Boeing to do the same. (The case against Boeing is under appeal.) Update: and the war of words continues. Here is Boeing’s response.
Boeing and IAM 751: Reaction to the agreement reached between Boeing and IAM to extend a new contract to 2016, settle the NLRB complaint and put the 737 MAX assembly in Seattle is winning accolades from everybody except some Republicans who was pissed they won’t have an election campaign issue to talk about next year. Never mind what’s good for Boeing.
Plane Talking, the entertaining if somewhat cranky blog from Down Under, has this piece about Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary opining on this and that.
Speaking of Ryanair: Heard in the hallway at the Credit Suisse conference: O’Leary is already circling over the American Airlines bankruptcy, looking to pick up 737-800s cheap if American doesn’t keep payments up and any are repossesed.
We couldn’t be more delighted.
The agreement announced Nov. 30 between the IAM 751 local and Boeing is an outstanding development.
Who wins? Basically, everybody.
The Company gets:
The union gets:
Customers get:
Suppliers get:
Washington State gets:
Losers:
We’re delighted management and labor set aside the antagonism of the decade-and-a-half and all the testosterone that went with it and realized that a partnership is more beneficial than being in their corners ready to fight.
A note of interest: Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Jim Albaugh was asked at the Credit Suisse conference Wednesday morning about the prospect of labor negotiations next year. (This during the 8am hour, EST.) Albaugh, in his characteristic understated way merely opined he was optimistic a successful negotiation could be achieved.
Six hours later, the deal was announced.
For those who don’t believe there was a connection between the Cargolux-Boeing-GE dispute and the 787 and Qatar, watch the Dubai Air Show. We’re hearing Qatar will sign announce it has selected GEnx for the 787.
Speaking of Max, Boeing didn’t say much about the 737 MAX on the earnings call. In fact, Jim McNerney was downright ambiguous. Boeing is still considering where to build the airplane and it’s still talking to customers. Boeing said in August at MAX’s unveiling that design details would be forthcoming the following month. November is around the corner and we’re still waiting.
Boeing’s union nemesis, IAM 751, is already reaching out to membership about “wants” for contract negotiations next year. Overhanging negotiations will be the NLRB complaint–testimony is supposed to begin next month–and the MAX assembly site. Our prediction: this will be purely a testosterone contest. We have dour predictions at this point.
Airbus and the A350: assembly is supposed to begin by year end with first flight next year. We’ll see.
Leeham News and Comment
