With just over two weeks left on the current contract, Boeing Co. and Machinists union negotiators turned up the rhetoric Thursday as they begin around-the-clock talks at a hotel in this Seattle suburb.þþThe thorniest issues to solve: Job security and pensions. þþThe Machinists represent about 25,000 Boeing production workers at the company's huge commercial jet assembly plants and other factories in the Seattle area, in Wichita, Kan., and Portland, Ore. Boeing workers in Southern California, St. Louis and Philadelphia, its other factory centers, and its technical and engineering employees are covered by other contracts. þþBoeing is scheduled to deliver is ÿbest and finalÿ contract proposal on Aug. 27. Union members are to vote Aug. 29 on the offer to replace the three-year contract that expires Sept. 1. þþMachinist union leaders said they are angry over the Chicago-based aerospace company's contingency plans for a strike, which were outlined in letters sent to airline customers weeks ago and in an internal memo to managers this week. Boeing said it plans to immediately shut down commercial production of airplanes and parts, and could potentially lay off employees if the strike lasts long enough. þþÿThe face at the bargaining table is one of cooperation,ÿ said Dick Schneider, chief negotiator for the Machinists. ÿThe face behind the scenes is trying to put fear in the hearts of our members.ÿ þþÿThe tone of negotiations are going to change, beginning with today,ÿ he added. þþBoeing officials defended the contingency plan. ÿWe are going to plan for every eventuality,ÿ said Jerry Calhoun, Boeing's lead negotiator, who appeared with Schneider at a joint news conference. þþCalhoun said that with airlines in distress — from US Airways bankruptcy to American Airlines' reorganization plans — and with Airbus emerging as a potent rival with lower-priced airplanes, the company needs a contract that keeps Boeing competitive. þþBoeing's stock, battered over the past few days as airline troubles mounted, closed up $1.14 to $37.49 a share Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange ( news - web sites). þþÿI hope at the end of the day, we'll come back to this room and (you will) see success written on our faces and joy in our hearts,ÿ said Calhoun. þþThe Machinists, Boeing's largest union, want an increase in pensions from $50 a month per year of service to $120 a month per year of service. The average age of the membership is 47 years old and the average pay is $50,000 a year. þþJob security is also a top issue. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Boeing has issued layoff notices for nearly 30,000 workers, mostly in the Puget Sound region, as the company slashed production in half. But even before that, the company had whittled down its local work force and contracted with overseas suppliers. þþÿNine-11 had an impact. But the corporate strategy had a bigger impact,ÿ Schneider said. ÿOur folks come to work every day and they don't know if they're going to have a job tomorrow,ÿ he said. þþThe union also wants Boeing to tie the number of union employees to airplane delivery numbers or revenue or other business-based statistics to ensure that the local employee base grows with Boeing's commercial planes business, said Mark Blondin, president of Machinists District 751, which covers the Seattle-area plants. þþTwo of the last four contract negotiations ended in strikes, most recently, a 69-day strike in 1995.
Source: AP
