Executive Council Statement | Corporate Greed

On Strike Against the Boeing Company

New Orleans, LA

SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001 represents over 23,000 engineering and technical employees of the Boeing Company in seven states. For more than nine months, representatives from SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001 met with Boeing in an effort to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.

During this period:

  • Boeing disciplined the engineers' bargaining chairman for expressing the employees' point of view to the press;
  • Boeing refused to engage in meaningful negotiations on economic items despite the company's record profits and aggressive acquisition strategy;
  • Boeing threatened to retaliate against employees who engage in their right to strike.

These activities are the subject of unfair labor practice charges pending before the National Labor Relations Board.

By a nearly unanimous vote in December 1999, SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001 members rejected Boeing contract offers that required major concessions on employees' benefits. When the SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001 bargaining committee resumed negotiations, they were met with more of the same surface bargaining on key economic issues. Boeing announced that they would present the employees with another final offer on January 5, 2000. That offer retracted many of the benefits concessions, but still failed to share Boeing's considerable profits with the engineering and technical workforce. In fact, Boeing agreed to minimal guaranteed wage increases for Boeing technicians and refused to guarantee any pay increase over the life of the contract to the Boeing engineers. After much soul searching, the SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001 bargaining committee recommended acceptance of the tentative agreement under the threat that Boeing would unilaterally implement the concessionary contract the membership had already overwhelmingly rejected. Not surprisingly, the membership rejected this contract offer on February 2, 2000.

Just days before the employees were set to begin an unlimited strike, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service intervened to bring the parties back to the bargaining table. On February 7 and 8, 2000, Boeing and SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001 met with the assistance of federal mediators in an effort to settle their contract dispute. After two days of mediated negotiations, Boeing absolutely refused to improve the offers rejected by the employees. The mediator informed the parties that further negotiations were fruitless. On February 8, 2000, Boeing's engineering and technical workforce began the largest strike of engineering employees in United States history.

Boeing reported record profits in the last quarter and pursues an aggressive corporate acquisition strategy. There is no question that Boeing can afford the modest contract improvements proposed by the union. Boeing seems to have forgotten that superior aircraft and aerospace design, engineering and customer support is what can and will continue to make Boeing strong. SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001 members are leaders in engineering and technical innovation and commitment to engineering and technical excellence. Yet Boeing deals with these employees unfairly in violation of the National Labor Relations Act, and refuses to honor their contribution to the company with fair compensation and benefits and respect working conditions which are necessary for the production of a superior product.

Be it resolved that the AFL-CIO supports the strike by the Society of Engineering Employees in Aerospace Local 2001, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, AFL-CIO & CLC.