Health & Fitness
IAM and Boeing Honored for Cooperation by Aerospace Industry Group
The Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance has honored the Machinists Union and Boeing for December's "accelerated and unprecedented management-labor agreement."
LYNNWOOD — The International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers has been honored along with the Boeing Co. for the landmark deal that ensured the 737 MAX will be built in the Northwest.
The Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance presented its Chairman’s Award to the union and Boeing at the organization’s annual conference Feb. 7.
The award commends the IAM and the company for “reaching an accelerated and unprecedented management-labor agreement.”
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In December, members of Machinists Union District Lodge 751 — and their fellow Machinists in Portland, Ore., and Wichita, Kansas — ratified a four-year contract extension with Boeing that included a commitment to keep final assembly of Boeing’s newest 737 model in Renton. In addition, parts fabrication work done in Puget Sound and Portland would remain in place.
“This is a very significant event,” said PNAA President Kevin Steck. “It’s fantastic. It means a lot to our area, and the industry in general, and we wanted to recognize it.”
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District 751 President Tom Wroblewski accepted the award on behalf of the union, while Boeing’s vice president in charge of marketing, Randy Tinseth, accepted for Boeing.
“We are all proud of what we accomplished in December,” said Wroblewski. He called the contract extension “a turning point for the relationship between Boeing and the Machinists Union.”
But more than that, Wroblewski added, the agreement “shows the need for labor, business, elected officials, education and the chamber of commerce to work together toward a common goal of good jobs.”
The union is committed to working cooperatively to grow the aerospace industry in Washington state, he said, whether that means more jobs at Boeing or at any of the more than 600 suppliers in the state.
“Whether they are union or non-union, the fact is the larger we can build the aerospace cluster here, the better for all of us,” Wroblewski said. “Working together, we all win.”
Originally formed in 1935 to represent hourly workers at Boeing, District Lodge 751 of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers now represents more than 31,000 working men and women at 45 employers across Washington, Oregon and California.
For more about District 751, read the Machinists News