Boeing looks to avoid a strike with a 25% pay raise and plans to build its next plane in Seattle
The commitments were part of a tentative deal the planemaker struck with a 30,000-plus-member union that could avoid a debilitating strike
I wrote about this in another post but it's so slanted in Boeing's favour that near every outlet is reporting this as a 25% increase.
It's not effective right now - it's scaled over the next four years. This means it won't cover the rising cost of everything and it's peanuts compared to what the company could afford.
Honestly I wish one of these large unions would go all the way and get a salary that these workers actually deserve. We see these situations happen too often where the employer is obviously in the wrong, yet they have the capital - financially and otherwise - to stonewall the union and wait until they relent as the coffers run low.
It also eliminates annual performance bonuses, doesn't improve their benefits, and leaves the pension that Boeing stole off the table. I was pretty excited when I read the news because someone close to me works there. When I talked to him about it he gave me the skinny. They're probably still going to strike if Boeing doesn't offer more.
Edited: my phone changed "doesn't" to "does", which completely changed the meaning
I had read about that somewhere. It's unbelievable in some respects that if shareholders are looking for the company to make cuts, it always starts with the people towards the bottom of the ladder. So much could be recouped by taking the axe to the executive branch.
I wish your friend and his colleagues well. I hope they come out better off than this.
The response from workers should be "25%? That easily? You should have given us that raise a few years ago. We are still behind. Do better."
That is their response so far.
"Here's half of what you ingrates asked for, now get back to work"
Nah, we're moving forward with our strike.