Boeing Machinists, on Third Day of Strike, May Be Out a Month (Outsourcing at Crux of Strike)

Source: Bloomberg

Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co.'s machinists, on the third day of a strike over job security and compensation, may be walking the picket lines for more than a month, if history and industry analysts prove any guide.

. . .

``I would expect this one's going to be long,'' said Scott Hamilton, founder of Seattle-based aviation consultancy Leeham Co. who's been following Boeing for 20 years. ``There are some pretty serious issues that they're pretty far apart on.''

. . .

Boeing offered the employees who make parts and assemble planes a package including an 11 percent raise over three years, bonuses and a 14 percent gain in pension payments. The proposal fell short of the 13 percent raise the IAM sought and didn't address its request to limit the use of outside contractors for work the machinists have traditionally done. Boeing also asked that workers pay higher medical co-pays and deductibles.

. . .

Blondin said he's open to talking with Boeing again with the caveat that ``it's got to be on improvements in the areas of job security, health care, wages and pension. They can't just move existing money around. There's got to be new money put into it and new job security.''



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atV87_1pI89M&refer=home

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Then from the WSJ Online:

Seattle -- At the heart of the union machinists' strike against Boeing Co. is a high-stakes showdown over something the aerospace giant once touted as a manufacturing innovation: Its effort to outsource key roles in producing its new 787 Dreamliner jet.

The flashpoint in that debate is Boeing's troubled 787 Dreamliner program, which striking workers point to as Exhibit No. 1 in their case against outsourcing. Boeing extolled the business virtues of having suppliers from as far away as Japan and Italy build much of the fuel-efficient new jetliner, with Boeing performing final assembly.

But the plan backfired when suppliers fell behind in getting their jobs done, and the 787 program is now more than a year behind schedule. Boeing was forced to turn to its own union work force to piece together the first few airplanes after they arrived at the company's factory in Everett, Wash., with thousands of missing parts. That fueled both anger and anxiety among union workers.

"If Boeing had let us build that airplane in the first place, it would be in service today," said Dale Flinn, a 20-year veteran on Boeing's 767 assembly line.

According to people familiar with the situation, negotiators for Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers were unwilling to budge significantly on how much say the union should have on when Boeing is allowed to ship work out to contractors. The two sides also remained apart on traditional economic issues, such as pay and pensions.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122083149762108451.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

but the REAL pressure comes outta Washington DC. It's the FREE TRADE shit that they (DC) has been focused on forcing down our throats for decades that's the real catalyst here.

--> Here's an idea: just offshore airworthiness certification, too, not just customer relations...

Problem solved. :sarcasm: