BY SCOTT BREEN AND BOB BRUNEAU
SEATTLE - "It's wonderful. Total solidarity all the way around!" is how striking Boeing worker Colleen Decker described the November 12 rally in support of the 32,000 workers on strike against Boeing Company.
About 4,000 strikers, their families, and supporters turned out for the rally at Everett Memorial Stadium. The rally was a show of solidarity that had an important impact on the spirit of strikers like 32-year-old Decker. She has worked at Boeing's Frederickson plant for 11 years. She was confident the striking members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) would win the strike saying, "The longer it goes on, the stronger we'll get."
Workers from a large number of other unions attended the event, showing the widespread union support the Machinists have in their battle with Boeing. Steelworkers, oil workers, service workers, Teamsters, carpenters, operating engineers, government employees, laborers, longshoremen, railroad workers, clerks, meatcutters, hospital workers, and many others came with signs, union jackets, hats and banners.
"I think it's important Boeing employees aren't just laying down and taking this," said Beverly Bowers, referring to the unionists' determination to fight any reduction in their health benefits.
Dennyse Oban, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said that she joined the rally to support the machinists because "our contract with GTE is up next spring, and we face the same issues as the Machinists face."
"Boeing's making billions of dollars, but it's labor that gives, always labor," said Dick Hampton, a member of the Transportation Communications International Union (TCU) who has worked as a clerk for Burlington Northern Railroad for 28 years. "It's happening in every industry, they're taking everything away that workers have won."
The strike at Boeing began October 6, after workers rejected a contract that would impose increases in health- care costs, inadequate retirement increases, and give small lump sum bonuses the first two years of the contract in lieu of wage increases. It also failed to satisfy union demands for job security.
Many strikers interviewed said they voted against the contract largely because they object to being forced to pay more for health care, while the company is raking in profits. "Most people I've talked to would have accepted the contract if Boeing had not made the changes in medical benefits that it did," explained Al Doll, who was out on a Seattle picket line. Doll is a machinist who has worked at Boeing for 11 years.
The rally featured newly elected AFL-CIO officers John Sweeney, Richard Trumka, and Linda Chavez- Thompson - president, secretary-treasurer and executive vice president respectively. The day before, they spoke at a similar rally in Wichita, Kansas, where 7,000 Machinists are on strike against Boeing.
One of the best-received speakers of the day was Kate DeSmet, a member of the Newspaper Guild on strike against the Detroit News Agency. "I bring greetings from 2,500 workers on strike against Detroit News and Detroit Free Press," she told the crowd, which gave her a standing ovation.
She explained that the newspaper publishers are all declaring that their strike is over, and that the workers have lost. "But I'm telling you today, this strike ain't over 'til we say it's over!" she said to thunderous applause. She led the gathering in chanting, "We are the union! Mighty, mighty union! Mighty! Union!"
Others who spoke were Rosalinda Guillén, of the United Farm Workers of America; Roy Wise, secretary-treasurer of the United Auto Workers: Brian McWilliams, president of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union; Joel Parker, vice president of TCU; and Bill Johnson, IAM District Lodge 751 president.
IAM officials push protectionism
The IAM officialdom has centered its fire on foreign
subcontracting and offset agreements as the cause of
declining jobs. "The Machinists Union seeks a full review
of U.S. commercial and trade policies to promote continued
world leadership in aerospace. It does our nation no good
at all, if an airplane bears the name Boeing or McDonnell
Douglas, but was built in China," said the IAM
informational leaflet distributed at the rally.
Boeing says only 1,900 jobs in the U.S. have been eliminated by subcontracting, out of the 60,000 that it has eliminated since 1990. It also says it must make offset agreements with other countries in order to successfully compete for their airplane orders.
George Kourpias, international president of the IAM, laid out the labor officialdom's view at the rally. "If protectionism means protecting ourselves from a greedy global marketplace, then yes, we are protectionist," he declared. "Of course," he added, "we want Boeing to sell planes, but we want to be the ones who build them."
Many strikers echoed the union tops' position that the strike is about winning job security. At the rally, Decker explained her reason for being there was that she "has two boys and I have to think about their future. Boeing is sending our jobs to foreign countries to save a buck."
This issue of subcontracting work was highlighted by a front-page article appearing the day of the rally in the combined Seattle Times/Seattle Post Intelligencer, entitled "When Jobs Go South." The article compared the lives of Vickie, whose job at Boeing's Auburn plant sewing and cutting insulation blankets is scheduled to be eliminated; and a Mexican worker, María, doing exactly the same job for a Boeing subcontractor in Mexicali, Mexico. Vickie makes $18 an hour while María earns $6.10 a day. "It is not enough to live well," María says. According to the article, Boeing will save about $50 million by shifting the work to other plants.
On the picket line at the Everett plant Bud Adams, who has worked at Boeing for 17 years, said, "It doesn't make me proud that Boeing is paying people $6 a day in Mexico. I don't blame Mexican workers, they are just trying to make a living. I blame the company."
Responding to demands that workers accept less to help Boeing compete Doll said, "Being competitive is just an excuse to make extra profits." He added, "We can compete ourselves down to slave labor and the company will still try to find ways to remain competitive."
In the week before the rally, the IAM filed four new charges of unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board. The charges allege that Boeing withheld vacation pay from striking workers, attempted to coerce laid-off workers to cross the picket line, failed to bargain in good faith on health-care issues, and provided misleading information to striking employees regarding extended medical benefits.
Many workers believe they will get a better picture of how much a fight they are in for after the first 45 days of the strike are up. Boeing has a clause in many of its contracts with customers allowing up to a one-year delay in delivery of a jet without penalty if it was caused by a strike lasting more than 45 days.
Bob Bruneau is a member of IAM local 751-A at Boeing's Renton plant and is on strike. Scott Breen is a member of IAM Local 289.