Nearly four weeks into a crippling strike by tens of thousands of workers at beleaguered aircraft manufacturer Boeing, federally mediated talks between the company and the union have yet again collapsed, with the two sides seemingly further apart than they have ever been.
Boeing and representatives from the IAM District 751 union met again on Monday to try to come to an agreement, but two very different accounts of what happened during this bargaining session are starting to emerge.
In a leaked memo, Stephanie Pope, the CEO and president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, slammed the union for the breakdown in negotiations, accusing it of making “non-negotiable demands far in excess of what can be accepted if we are to remain competitive as a business.”
In response, the union pinned the blame on Boeing, saying the company was “hell-bent on standing on the non-negotiated offer” and refused to propose any further wage increases above what had already been offered.
The union represents tens of thousands of Boeing workers in the Portland and Seattle area who are officially known as Machnisists. These workers are responsible for building some of Boeing’s most successful aircraft, including the best-selling 737MAX line of single-aisle aircraft.
Since late September, however, aircraft assembly lines across the Puget Sound area have been silent after the Machinists rejected a tentative agreement by 94.6% and voted in favor of going on strike by 96%.
A week after going on strike, Boeing then offered a non-negotiated “best and final” offer, which included a pay rise of 30%, a ratification bonus of $6,000, and improvements to 401(k) plans.
Boeing also promised to keep all other elements of the original tentative agreement intact, including a commitment to build its next airplane in the Puget Sound area.
That offer has, however, now been withdrawn after talking collapsed on Tuesday.
“Our leadership team has been doing all we can to find common ground with the union,” Pope told workers shortly after talks broke down. “We just concluded a third round of bargaining with a federal mediator, which included two days of negotiations this week.”
“Our team bargained in good faith and made new and improved proposals to try to reach a compromise, including increases in take-home pay and retirement.”
Pope added: “Unfortunately, the union did not seriously consider our proposals. Instead, the union made non-negotiable demands far in excess of what can be accepted if we are to remain competitive as a business. Given that position, further negotiations do not make sense at this point, and our offer has been withdrawn.”
Boeing has already warned employees across the company of significant cost-cutting efforts, including plans to furlough workers if the strike continues for much longer. Pope has also warned of potential “next steps,” which is believed to be a euphemism for layoffs.
The union accused Boeing of a “blatant show of disrespect” over its best and final offer that had first been leaked to the media before being shared with striking workers.
On Tuesday, union officials said the alleged stunt had “made it harder to reach an agreement” and that Boeing has been”unwilling to move in our direction” during federally mediated talks.
Both sides continue to say that they are ready and willing to continue negotiations, but no further bargaining sessions are currently scheduled, and there is no sign of how or when the industrial strike impacting Boeing will come to an end.
There is nothing like strikes to lock inflation into the economy. Meanwhile I wonder who gave and who got the little white envelope stuffed with cash to postpone the Longshoreman labor strike until after the election. It doesn’t tske a retired auditor and fraud examiner who was a Teamster in the early 70s to know that something on the docks ain’t passing the sniff test.