It’s assumed
This concept is a twin-jet, twin-aisle aircraft with a 4,500 nautical miles to 5,000nm range. Basically, it’s a straight replacement for the Boeing 767 (not the 757, as so many people think about it).
It’s also assumed that Boeing will use the new middle of the market aircraft, which it calls the New Mid-range Aircraft (NMA), to leverage its major union into more concessions and givebacks in return for a pledge to assemble it at the Everett, Wash., plant. This is where all Boeing’s wide-body airplanes are assembled, except for a second line for the 787.
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This time, the union—the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751—will be ready.
Major changes recently in the IAM’s Constitution eliminates the ability of the International, as headquarters is called within the IAM, to run roughshod over the locals and deal directly between the International’s leadership and the company.
The story was first reported by The (Everett) Herald Sept. 19.
Headquarters overrules on Boeing 777X
It was at the end of 2013 that the International forced a vote of District 751 membership on contract concessions after negotiating a deal with Boeing leadership at its headquarters in Chicago. The International bypassed District leadership and spring the surprise deal on the membership, which rejected the contract by a whopping 2-1 margin.
An account of the bizarre handling of the vote is here.
But the International wasn’t done. It negotiated some minor changes and forced a new vote on Jan. 3, 2014, when many District 751 members were still on vacation from the Christmas-New Year’s holiday. This time the new contract was approved on a 51%-49% vote.
The machinations led to the resignation of the long-time president, Tom Wroblewski, of District 751 and a witch hunt by the International of those in 751 leadership who worked against the International in the votes.
The organization’s Constitution allowed the International to negotiate and sign contracts for any local District without their consent, or to even overrule local votes.
No more.
Gaining local control
Jon Holden, who succeeded Wroblewski in the bitter aftermath, had a real mess to clean up. The revised contract goes to 2024. Givebacks on health care and pension benefits were included. And because the contract is in force, the leverage of striking is gone.
There is little Holden can do on the current contract except file grievances in specific cases, but he and his leadership at 751—many who lived through the 2013/2014 debacle—plotted a new strategy.
“As we went through the contract in 2013-14, many people were frustrated the contract was opened up without their knowledge,” Holden told me last week. The negotiations that the International held with Boeing were held in secret. There was already a contract in place and membership couldn’t exercise its leverage through a strike.
“Our members wanted some protection,” Holden said. “They wanted to know if the contract is opened. They want to have the right to ratify, to have a vote; they want to set the date/time of the vote.”
So Holden and his leadership began work to remedy these issues.
A year in the making
“We spent about a year working on what we wanted to change. We went through the Constitution. I don’t think any district had put as much effort before this,” Holden said.
“We had to keep it simple. All local 751 lodges passed the same amendments to the Constitution. Then we worked across the country and passed these on to other locals across the country.
“It was the only way to effect change for our union in the future. We focused on the process used in 2013-14, which put us in a position of weakness. The company was fearless of what they could propose to us without any danger of consequences [i.e., no strike].”
The amendments 751 proposed, which were adopted across the country by other IAM districts, doesn’t change the no-ability-to-strike during the time a contract is in place, but it does change the ability of the International to assume control of the process.
“If an employer comes to leadership of bargaining units across the country [to reopen the contract], only the members can vote to open up,” Holden said. It also gives the members and the Districts the ability to set the voting dates, avoiding a date when a large number of members are on vacation like the Jan. 3, 2013, vote.
Expecting new Boeing action
Holden expects Boeing will return to the union for new concessions and givebacks, along with another contract extension, if and when it decides to launch the NMA. This could happen as early as next year, or in 2018, for entry into service in 2024 (when the current contract expires) or 2025. Extending the contract beyond these dates well in advance will provide for stability and assurance to customer the NMA won’t get caught up in a new strike.
“We expect [Boeing to seek a new contract early],” Holden said. “It would be foolish [to think] that Boeing would not take any future program and dangle it over our heads. But it won’t be secret. The membership will decide whether to reopen contract and choose a date that doesn’t disenfranchise people. We all believe we will face this again.
“We feel this is historic change for our union. A lot of people were involved. It’s certainly a turning point for our union,” Holden said.
