Union says Boeing penny-pinching has hurt supply chain
By AFP
June 28, 2024
Jon Holden -- seen here with Hillary Clinton in March 2016 -- is president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers for District 751, which represents some 30,000 Boeing workers - Copyright AFP Emmanuel DUNAND
Elodie MAZEIN
Boeing’s practice of aggressively pressuring suppliers on costs has damaged its own supply chain, contributing to the aviation giant’s current woes, a top union negotiator told AFP this week.
“Boeing has spent a long time, since 2012 trying to squeeze the supply chain by forcing them to cut their costs to Boeing, year over year,” said Jon Holden, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) for District 751.
“I’m fine with efficiency,” Holden said. “What I’m not okay with is undermining the health of the manufacturing process.”
Holden’s local chapter in Seattle represents 32,000 workers, with some 30,000 at Boeing. The union hopes for significant gains from the new contract after negotiations kicked off in March.
“Boeing went through an effort to sell off different factories, to reduce their net assets, and those factories are now part of the supply chain,” Holden told AFP in an interview, adding such moves contributed to the storied manufacturer’s current woes.
“The company looks at ways to make things more efficient, but they cut out important redundancies like quality assurance,” he said.
For months, Boeing has been dealing with production problems in three commercial jets — the 737 MAX, the 787 Dreamliner and the 777.
The company has been in crisis mode since a 737 MAX flown by Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing in January after a fuselage panel blew out.
Boeing has undertaken training programs and other initiatives to boost quality control and reassure the Federal Aviation Administration. Many of these efforts center on the IAM-represented Boeing factory in Renton, Washington where the MAX is built.
Along with another union at Boeing, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), the IAM has sought two seats on Boeing’s board of directors, an effort Boeing opposes.
– Seeking ‘substantial’ raise –
In light of Boeing’s current travails, the union wants to be able to bargain on any changes to quality management that could affect the production system.
“We never proposed those things in the past but it’s our reputation, it’s our jobs, it’s our livelihoods,” Holden said.
Key demands include a “substantial” salary hike of at least 40 percent, as well as provisions for health care, retirement and job security.
Holden said a hefty wage hike is imperative after workers only received nominal cost-of-living support over the last eight years in spite of “massive inflation” of recent years.
The union is also seeking assurances from Boeing that it will build its next new aircraft — expected around 2035 — in the Seattle region.
“It’s job security for the next 50 years,” he said.
At a congressional hearing earlier this month, Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun said of workers, “they will definitely get a raise.”
Holden said most of the major issues in the contract talks remain unresolved, meaning the two sides will be adding hours to upcoming negotiations.
The IAM plans to take a vote July 17 authorizing a possible strike. To mark the event, it has rented T-Mobile Park in Seattle, the stadium for the Seattle Mariners baseball team, which holds up to 48,000.
“When we all participate in this important event, the factory will be quiet,” the union said on its website.
The current contract, in place for 16 years, expires at midnight on September 12. The union last called a strike in 2008 that lasted 57 days.
During a media visit of the Renton plant organized by Boeing this week, an AFP reporter observed a boisterous union rally with representatives wearing IAM buttons and carrying signs as they marched through the plant in a show of solidarity.
“We have a very strong leverage right now and we’re going to use it,” said Holden.
Boeing is currently engaged in talks to buy back Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier of the fuselage for the 737 MAX. The company was once part of Boeing before being spun off in 2005.
Holden welcomes the shift, saying it was “foolish” for Boeing to separate from Spirit, adding, “it’s important that they are healthy.”
By AFP
June 28, 2024
Jon Holden -- seen here with Hillary Clinton in March 2016 -- is president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers for District 751, which represents some 30,000 Boeing workers - Copyright AFP Emmanuel DUNAND
Elodie MAZEIN
Boeing’s practice of aggressively pressuring suppliers on costs has damaged its own supply chain, contributing to the aviation giant’s current woes, a top union negotiator told AFP this week.
“Boeing has spent a long time, since 2012 trying to squeeze the supply chain by forcing them to cut their costs to Boeing, year over year,” said Jon Holden, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) for District 751.
“I’m fine with efficiency,” Holden said. “What I’m not okay with is undermining the health of the manufacturing process.”
Holden’s local chapter in Seattle represents 32,000 workers, with some 30,000 at Boeing. The union hopes for significant gains from the new contract after negotiations kicked off in March.
“Boeing went through an effort to sell off different factories, to reduce their net assets, and those factories are now part of the supply chain,” Holden told AFP in an interview, adding such moves contributed to the storied manufacturer’s current woes.
“The company looks at ways to make things more efficient, but they cut out important redundancies like quality assurance,” he said.
For months, Boeing has been dealing with production problems in three commercial jets — the 737 MAX, the 787 Dreamliner and the 777.
The company has been in crisis mode since a 737 MAX flown by Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing in January after a fuselage panel blew out.
Boeing has undertaken training programs and other initiatives to boost quality control and reassure the Federal Aviation Administration. Many of these efforts center on the IAM-represented Boeing factory in Renton, Washington where the MAX is built.
Along with another union at Boeing, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), the IAM has sought two seats on Boeing’s board of directors, an effort Boeing opposes.
– Seeking ‘substantial’ raise –
In light of Boeing’s current travails, the union wants to be able to bargain on any changes to quality management that could affect the production system.
“We never proposed those things in the past but it’s our reputation, it’s our jobs, it’s our livelihoods,” Holden said.
Key demands include a “substantial” salary hike of at least 40 percent, as well as provisions for health care, retirement and job security.
Holden said a hefty wage hike is imperative after workers only received nominal cost-of-living support over the last eight years in spite of “massive inflation” of recent years.
The union is also seeking assurances from Boeing that it will build its next new aircraft — expected around 2035 — in the Seattle region.
“It’s job security for the next 50 years,” he said.
At a congressional hearing earlier this month, Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun said of workers, “they will definitely get a raise.”
Holden said most of the major issues in the contract talks remain unresolved, meaning the two sides will be adding hours to upcoming negotiations.
The IAM plans to take a vote July 17 authorizing a possible strike. To mark the event, it has rented T-Mobile Park in Seattle, the stadium for the Seattle Mariners baseball team, which holds up to 48,000.
“When we all participate in this important event, the factory will be quiet,” the union said on its website.
The current contract, in place for 16 years, expires at midnight on September 12. The union last called a strike in 2008 that lasted 57 days.
During a media visit of the Renton plant organized by Boeing this week, an AFP reporter observed a boisterous union rally with representatives wearing IAM buttons and carrying signs as they marched through the plant in a show of solidarity.
“We have a very strong leverage right now and we’re going to use it,” said Holden.
Boeing is currently engaged in talks to buy back Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier of the fuselage for the 737 MAX. The company was once part of Boeing before being spun off in 2005.
Holden welcomes the shift, saying it was “foolish” for Boeing to separate from Spirit, adding, “it’s important that they are healthy.”
"The families will strenuously object to this plea deal."
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun takes a seat as family members of those killed in Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes hold up pictures of their loved ones before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs -- Subcommittee On Investigations at the Hart Senate Office Building on Tuesday, June 18. on Capitol Hill. Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo
July 1 (UPI) -- The Justice Department is planning to present Boeing with a plea deal related to two fatal crashes of the embattled American aerospace company's 737 Max 8 jet that lawyers representing the victims' families describe as a "sweetheart deal" that they will "strenuously object" to.
The Justice Department has been investigating Boeing and its safety practices following a series of recent issues that have plagued the company's public image, most notably when a door plug flew off a 737 Max jet in January mid-flight.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun takes a seat as family members of those killed in Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes hold up pictures of their loved ones before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs -- Subcommittee On Investigations at the Hart Senate Office Building on Tuesday, June 18. on Capitol Hill. Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo
July 1 (UPI) -- The Justice Department is planning to present Boeing with a plea deal related to two fatal crashes of the embattled American aerospace company's 737 Max 8 jet that lawyers representing the victims' families describe as a "sweetheart deal" that they will "strenuously object" to.
The Justice Department has been investigating Boeing and its safety practices following a series of recent issues that have plagued the company's public image, most notably when a door plug flew off a 737 Max jet in January mid-flight.
Last month, federal prosecutors said those issues violated a 2021 agreement that shielded it from criminal charges stemming from the two crashes of 747 Max jets that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019.
The conditions of the plea deal have not been publicly disclosed but lawyers representing the families said it was presented to them during a two-hour call on Sunday. If Boeing accepts, it means a criminal trial will be avoided.
"The deal will not acknowledge, in any way, that Boeing's crime killed 346 people. It also appears to rest on the idea that Boeing did not harm any victim," Paul Cassell, a lawyer representing victims' families in a criminal action pending in a Texas federal court, said in a statement.
"The families will strenuously object to this plea deal."
Robert Clifford, a senior partner at Clifford Law Office who participated in the call, also said accountability and admission that Boeing committed a crime resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people were absent from the plea deal.
"I can tell you that the families are very unhappy and angered with DOJ's decisions and proposal," he said. "And the families will most certainly object before Judge Reed O'Connor and ask that he reject the plea if Boeing accepts."
Justice Department officials told the families and their attorneys during the call that they have yet to present the deal to Boeing but would do so later Sunday, according to the lawyers.
UPI has contacted both the Department of Justice and Boeing for comment and confirmation.
Lion Air Flight 610 crashed in October 2018, killing 189 people. Six months later, a second Boeing 737 Max jet, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, crashed shortly after take off, killing 157 people.
In 2021, Boeing struck a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve a criminal charge of conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration over pilots withholding information about issues with the jet.
The conditions of the plea deal have not been publicly disclosed but lawyers representing the families said it was presented to them during a two-hour call on Sunday. If Boeing accepts, it means a criminal trial will be avoided.
"The deal will not acknowledge, in any way, that Boeing's crime killed 346 people. It also appears to rest on the idea that Boeing did not harm any victim," Paul Cassell, a lawyer representing victims' families in a criminal action pending in a Texas federal court, said in a statement.
"The families will strenuously object to this plea deal."
Robert Clifford, a senior partner at Clifford Law Office who participated in the call, also said accountability and admission that Boeing committed a crime resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people were absent from the plea deal.
"I can tell you that the families are very unhappy and angered with DOJ's decisions and proposal," he said. "And the families will most certainly object before Judge Reed O'Connor and ask that he reject the plea if Boeing accepts."
Justice Department officials told the families and their attorneys during the call that they have yet to present the deal to Boeing but would do so later Sunday, according to the lawyers.
UPI has contacted both the Department of Justice and Boeing for comment and confirmation.
Lion Air Flight 610 crashed in October 2018, killing 189 people. Six months later, a second Boeing 737 Max jet, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, crashed shortly after take off, killing 157 people.
In 2021, Boeing struck a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve a criminal charge of conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration over pilots withholding information about issues with the jet.
Boeing has apologized over the crashes. Its outgoing CEO, Dave Calhoun, repeated the apology earlier this month during a bipartisan hearing on Capitol Hill.
"I apologize for the grief we have caused," he said. "We are focused on safety."
"I apologize for the grief we have caused," he said. "We are focused on safety."
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