Boeing factory workers accept contract and end 7-week strike. (38% pay raise over 4 years)
Boeing factory workers accept contract and end 7-week strike. (38% pay raise over 4 years)
A strike by 33,000 Boeing factory workers is coming to an end. Union machinists voted on Monday to accept the company’s latest contract offer, which includes a 38% pay raise over four years.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21648625
From the article:
Unionized machinists at Boeing voted Monday to accept a contract offer and end their strike after more than seven weeks.
Leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district in Seattle said 59% of members who cast ballots agreed to approve the company’s fourth formal offer and the third put to a vote. The deal includes pay raises of 38% over four years, and ratification and productivity bonuses.
However, Boeing refused to meet strikers’ demand to restore a company pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.
The average annual pay of Boeing machinists is currently $75,608 and eventually will rise to $119,309 under the new contract, according to the company.
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So can Boeing just delay raises for 4 years and then replace workers at 3 years 11 months mark, or do they have protections in place? How does that work?
Boeing can’t really replace workers. The union is so strong because aerospace machining is a very difficult job that takes years and years to learn—if they cut their workforce and start anew, they will lose enough productivity that it won’t be worth whatever wages they save.
This is already part of the problem. You can't really treat aircraft workers the way they have. When a 40 year worker retires, a new hire isn't really a replacement. Looking solely at headcount is foolish.
I suspect the 38% is roughly cut into 9.5% a year.
Which also brings up the fact that annual inflation still applies, so realistically it's more like 6.5% increases. Since annual inflation is usually around 3% or so.
If you're not getting about a 3% "raise" each year, you're getting paid less than you were.
This is exactly what I've been thinking. It looks like a win, but spread in time like that it is more like no loss at best, or time bought for Boeing to come up with less obvious way to screw workers over at worst.
Besides, 4 years is a lot of time for a worker. It wouldn't be surprising if some people would have to leave the company on their own over such time span due to unrelated reasons, missing out on the potential raise. It is probably another factor Boeing counts on.
I'm glad that at least they got something, but I hope they won't let their guard down.