Why A Former Senior Boeing Employee Will Not Fly On Their MAX Planes

Casey Pelous

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IANAE(conomist) but have to agree with the workers in principle. Losing their pension plan is much more of a hit than minimal, or even no, near future raises. It is shocking to think that "Union leaders" put that out for a vote. I suppose the Union is paying the reps an inflationary raise, along with a pension plan, health care, and job security. But they could at least pretend to care.
I hear that union leaders badly misjudged the depth of the workers' anger and willingness to walk out. They thought it would be a close vote but were hesitant to go on strike since many workers were already feeling the economic pinch of inflation, no raises for a while, etc. Disclaimer; most of my Boeing friends have left the company in the past year or two, so I might not be getting the most up-to-date gossip. I think it's unfair to characterize it as bad faith or corruption on the union leaders' part. (And I'd advise against speaking ill of the union in this neck of the woods. Some of those folks lift airplane parts all day if you catch my meaning.)

Fire every exec who came over from Douglas and every exec hired by someone from Douglas.
I think you'd find a good deal of support for that, but Boeing's troubles started long before that acquisition, which was in 1997. It would also inject even more chaos into a situation that desperately needs more order. There ARE many, many good folks at Boeing -- the problems are up there in the C suites and they seem hellbent on continuing to suck.
 

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Jon Holdan is not lifting parts along with his fellow workers and it is bad faith on his part to sit in the Westin Hotel for a few weeks and negotiate the proposed deal. The workers were right to vote it down and they are right to hold their Union leadership accountable. The workers have sacrificed a great deal at this point, and may now be laid off, and suddenly realize that they can trust neither side to support them. But you are correct. If I were one of them they'd probably have fed me to the fishes by now.
 
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Casey Pelous

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... suddenly realize that they can trust neither side to support them. But you are correct. If I were one of them they'd probably have fed me to the fishes by now.
1) Nothing sudden about it. "The Lazy B" is a notoriously unpleasant place to work. Let's put it this way -- if you ever need a truckload of cynicism and negativity, you can just back 'er up to Boeing and get all you need for a nickel. That's probably at least part of why it was tough for the union to discern that this time the workers meant business. Frankly, it probably contributed to management's deaf ear when the union kept saying, basically, "stuff's gonna start falling out of the sky."

2) No, no "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes" ending for you. You'd fit right in. Once you are in the belly of the beast, the right to bitch and moan is part of your compensation package. It's kind of like family.

I get what you're saying, though, and I'm totally behind the workers "tossing their teddy out of the pram" on this one. If it results in some metaphorical beheadings at the top, but gets them their pensions, better salaries, and better working conditions, that's even better.

By the way, I haven't seen many dollar amounts published; starting pay at Boeing is minimum wage (about $15 in WA) until you qualify for union membership, then it is (presently) about $20 per hour for most positions. For a line worker, that can go all the way up to $29/hr. That is not Big Money in the Puget Sound area where even a fairly modest suburban house can approach $1,000,000.
 

Casey Pelous

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It is settled: Boeing workers vote to end $9.6B strike, nabbing 43% wage increase over 4 years

I am curious to see how much International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers dues and associated fees increase during the next four years.
Here's the latest dues I could find -- looks like they have not gone up since 2020.

TCU/IAM Dues Rate- $95.11
IAM Per Capita Tax Rate- $35.74
TCU Education Fund- $1.00
TCU Convention Fund- $2.00
Amount to be split- $56.37
Local Lodge (@ 31%)- $17.47
National Union (@ 69%)- $38.90

Total: About $200 a month. (I'm not sure what "amount to be split" or some of those other terms mean.)

You don't join the union until you get past the training/orientation period and have x number of hours in whatever job you end up in -- so folks making $15 an hour don't pay union dues. It looks like the typical increase is in the "under $10 a year" range.