Boeing Workers Strike as 25% Pay Rise Rejected

Friday, September 13, 2024

Boeing workers have gone on strike after they overwhelmingly rejected a tentative deal between union representatives and the plane maker that included a 25% pay rise. More than 30,000 workers in Seattle and Portland downed their tools from midnight Pacific Time (07:00 GMT) on Friday.

Posted by redial at 07:31 PM | 15 COMMENTS | permalink

Comments

I wish I was in a position to turn down a 25% raise...

#1 | Posted by jpw at 2024-09-13 07:03 PM

@#1 ... I wish I was in a position to turn down a 25% raise... ...

What if the workers were being paid so poorly that the 25% (25% over four years, btw) does not even bring them up to an appropriate level? When Boeing "merged" with McDonald-Douglas, the company apparently turned into a money printer for the wealthy new owners, and that seems to be why the workers were screwed pay-wise.

The rejection was not based solely upon the 25% over four years, but the elimination of retirement benefits and bonuses (a.k.a. profit sharing).

The UAW was able to secure profit sharing.

In my experience, profit sharing within a company has tremendous benefits for both the company and the workers.

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-09-13 07:26 PM

I heard mention by the union head of Boeing previously moving jobs out of state to Right to Work for Less States, so I suspect they are also trying to lock Boeing into keeping a specific number of jobs in the PNW. It would suck to agree to 25% and then next year learn that management was moving your line to South Carolina making your new contract null and void.

#3 | Posted by _Gunslinger_ at 2024-09-13 08:53 PM

25% in one year? Sure, that's hard to turn down. 25% in 4 years when it ends up not even covering the inflation they've already been hit with? Not so hard, management can GTFO.

It's pretty rare that a proposed contract is so bad that over 90% of workers vote it down. This one was THAT bad.

#4 | Posted by DarkVader at 2024-09-13 10:10 PM

The rejection was not based solely upon the 25% over four years, but the elimination of retirement benefits and bonuses (a.k.a. profit sharing).

In addition to losing retirement pensions and benefits they were behind by about 40% in wages due to previous cuts.

It's no wonder they are having safety issues with all those disgruntled disheartened employees working there.

I certainly wouldn't be whistling while I worked there if they negotiated away my wages pension and benefits.

#5 | Posted by donnerboy at 2024-09-14 12:06 PM

I can't blame the workers, something similar here with John Deer. It used to be a great company to work for, now it pays 1/2 of what it used to, same with the benefits. Even some plants are relocating to Mexico. If they (the stockholders) want to make it all about money, then fine, so will I. I vote with my wallet and boycott them whenever possible.

#6 | Posted by bat4255 at 2024-09-14 01:55 PM

"When Boeing "merged" with McDonald-Douglas, the company apparently turned into a money printer for the wealthy new owners, and that seems to be why the workers were screwed pay-wise."

That doesn't matter.

Wages aren't defined by how much a company makes; they are defined by the market for that labor. You don't pay more for electricity or internet because you make more money. Or labor.

It would appear that the wages Boeing is offering don't match what the market demands. This is the Seattle area after all. It's not Possum Pouch, Arkansas. If you want to operate a facility in that region, you'll need to pay enough to keep them happy.96.4% of them are not.

But I'm with JPW. If I demanded a 25% increase in wages, I'm pretty sure my employer would just not have this as a job anymore. And no one would even notice.

#7 | Posted by madbomber at 2024-09-14 03:35 PM

So who would bomb the children cheaper than you?

Where would they find a cut rate bomber pilot?

How much did it cost them to get you qualified to bomb people?

So many questions.

#8 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-09-14 03:39 PM

In my experience, profit sharing within a company has tremendous benefits for both the company and the workers.

#2 | Posted by LampLighter

I will say personally it has done nothing at my place. Poor management is a big cause.

#9 | Posted by GalaxiePete at 2024-09-14 09:59 PM

Profit sharing has been great for our company.

We manage to making that bonus and we've never not paid it out.

#10 | Posted by eberly at 2024-09-14 10:24 PM

"So who would bomb the children cheaper than you?"

The Russians. Obviously.

A Russian pilot at my rank when I retired would have made about $37k per year. I was making just under $200k.

I also figure that it cost somewhere between $13M and $66M to get me qualified and current, although those would all be sunk costs, so it would be difficult to validate them.

#11 | Posted by madbomber at 2024-09-15 05:44 AM

That's why they're kicking NATO's ass. They work cheap.

Maybe we should pay our pilots less too.

Killing people isn't supposed to be lucrative.

#12 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-09-15 12:17 PM

"That's why they're kicking NATO's ass. They work cheap."

NATO is not in the fight.

Tiny Ukraine is still not conquered after three years. And you think Russia is kicking ass?

What is wrong with you?
...

Killing people isn't supposed to be lucrative.

#12 | POSTED BY EFFETEPOSER

The military-industrial complex gave $10.2 million to members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee prior to their votes this June to increase overall defense spending for FY23.

This year, the armed services committees voted to increase the Pentagon budget beyond the President's $813 billion request for the Pentagon for the coming fiscal year, a $31 billion increase from the previous fiscal year, by an additional $37.5 billion in the House and $45 billion in the Senate.

Not lucrative my arse.

#13 | Posted by donnerboy at 2024-09-15 12:49 PM

Is that why You got into it? For the Lucre?

If paying more for military hardware and personnel is so effective, why did Afghanistan beat the US?

Why does Yemen humiliate Israel?

How did the Viet Cong defeat the US?

So many questions.

I mean the Money,..just makes our Warriors So much Better.

Lol.

#14 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-09-15 01:20 PM

"Is that why You got into it? For the Lucre?"

I "got into it" from a desire to learn more about my own country and do my part to serve my country and even gain a marketable skill in the process.

And what planet do you come from where they don't make money killing their own? I would like to go there and see how they did it.

Humans have made fortunes and careers out of killing other humans for thousands of years here on earth.

I could also make good money working in the defense industry. Singer Link offered me a lucrative position but I turned it down. I decided it was not all about the money but the dignity and effects of my work and the amount of time I could spend with my family. And since I had to work for a living (not independently wealthy) I chose to work in a field that helped humans and cared for the planet. Not kill them and blow it up.

So many questions.

Try reading a book or taking a class on the subject you have questions about. Or get yourself a "Good Guy" AI.

...

I mean the Money,..just makes our Warriors So much Better.

Lol.

Yeah. It's pretty simple.

The better you pay your Warriors the better they will serve you.

#15 | Posted by donnerboy at 2024-09-15 02:06 PM

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