SEATTLE (Reuters) - Workers at a Boeing Co. (BA.N) parts plant in Spokane, Washington, on Monday agreed to take a pay cut to keep their jobs under a new contract from manufacturer Triumph Group Inc. (TGI.N, union leaders said.þþThe deal would keep about 270 of 300 workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) on the job at about 85 percent of their previous salaries of about $51,000 a year.þþHad workers rejected the contract, Boeing may have shut down the cabin floor panel and air duct facility as part of its campaign to shed minor plants and focus on higher value design and final assembly work.þþ``Our members are now working for an employer that has committed to expanding and growing the business,'' said Mark Blondin, local IAM president, in a prepared statement.þþThe contract was approved by 75 percent of voting members, Blondin said.þþTo offset the pay cut, Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Triumph, an aerospace parts maker, will provide better pension benefits and life insurance coverage compared to Boeing's.þþTriumph will also work with the union to develop a profit-sharing plan during the next six months, Blondin said.þþIAM workers that are not retained by Triumph will get severance packages from Boeing, and Triumph has agreed to rehire some of the 130 laid-off Boeing workers first if it succeeds in bringing in new business to the plant.þþThe plant employs about 400 workers, including 42 represented by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, which is still negotiating a contract with Triumph, union spokesman Bill Dugovich said.þþChicago-based Boeing, which builds most of its commercial jets in the Seattle area, hopes to lower its costs to compete with European rival Airbus SAS (EAD.DE) (EAD.PA), which has steadily gained market share in recent years.þþBoeing fired some 30,000 commercial jet workers last year as airline jet orders dwindled in the wake of the Sept. 11 U.S. hijack attacks. The company plans to fire another 5,000 workers this year. þþþ
Source: NY Times
