SEATTLE — Now in the fourth week of their strike against Boeing, one of the two major producers of commercial airplanes worldwide, picket lines by members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District Lodge 751 remain up at the company’s facilities, here and elsewhere. The fight addresses the 33,000 workers’ needs for significantly improved wages, control over schedules and working conditions.
The union and company resumed negotiations Oct. 7, accompanied by a federal mediator.
“The first offer we got didn’t cut it. That’s why we are out on the picket lines today,” Jon Holden, president of District 751, told the Militant. “We’ve already gotten a better offer than the first, but workers want more, so we are going to keep pushing.”
On Sept. 30 Boeing cut the company-paid health care benefits for those on strike.
The workers are demanding a 40% wage raise over a four-year contract, as well as less time to reach full pay. Another key demand is the return of their pensions that they gave up earlier under threats by the bosses to move the company out of the area.
Support for the Boeing strikers is strong and visible across the Puget Sound region where most of Boeing’s operations are based. One Militant reader reported that when she went to a Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle for lunch, signs in the window read, “Support IAM Boeing workers.” The restaurant owner proudly explained that her daughter was a Boeing worker on strike.
Gains won by Boeing workers will help other workers in the area in struggles with their bosses.
Strikers on the picket line readily explain the stakes in the strike. There is a significant layer of young workers going through their first union battle, who say that they feel they’re a part of a good cause fighting for something better.
“Going on strike is a sacrifice, but it’s worth it,” one striker said. The union asks strikers not to identify themselves to avoid future boss retaliation. “No one forced us to go on the picket line. We decided this. We made the choice to walk out because we know it’s the only way we can get the contract we want.” He said that he’s getting to know his co-workers better and getting closer with them. “Without going through this fight, that wouldn’t have been possible.”
“Boeing has been trying to squeeze more and more out of its workers,” Holden explained. Compared to the 2014 negotiations, he said, “we are in a better position this time around. This is our time to fight for what we want.”
In June, Machinists at Spirit AeroSystems won improvements in overtime rules. “Workers saw that was possible,” Holden said, “and we use that win by the workers at Spirit as a motivator to fight against the mandatory overtime and have a better work-life balance for Boeing workers here.” Spirit AeroSystems makes components for Boeing, and Boeing is in the process of buying it.
Richie Johnsen, general vice president of IAM Air Transport Territory, which represents some 100,000 workers at airlines across the country, told the Militant, “I came to the picket line today to make sure our union brothers and sisters working at Boeing know they have the support of the Machinists working on the airlines.”
“On our days off, air transport workers have been taking the time to join the 751 picket lines,” he said. “If the Boeing workers get a good contract, we win too!
“Regardless of who you are in labor, you want to support one another. You see Boeing workers on strike, UPS workers, longshore workers on the East Coast, autoworkers,” he said. “You see these fights building on each other and it’s infectious.”
“Everyone is welcome on these picket lines,” Holden told the Militant. “Join them. Learn and grow from them. This is an opportunity to use our rights and to fight. When you come to the picket line, you get to see the common interests we all have in supporting this fight.
“Anyone can drop off food or contributions to any of the Machinist union halls in the region,” he said. “You can send messages of support through the IAM 751 website.”
For news about the strike or to send messages of support and donate to the District 751 Hardship Fund, go to www.iam751.org and click on “Contract 2024.”