The Machinists Union’s four-year contract extension with the Boeing Co. took effect last week.
The deal, which was ratified with a 76-percent yes vote back in December, grants pay increases, boosts retirement and dental benefits, and creates a new incentive pay program for nearly 30,000 members of Machinists Union District Lodge 751 working for Boeing in Puget Sound, as well as Machinists working for the company in Oregon and Kansas.
As part of the contract, Boeing agreed to put production of its new 737 MAX passenger jet in Renton.
That job security was the biggest benefit of the new contract, said District 751 President Tom Wroblewski. ”We’ve secured — for at least the next 10 years and probably double that — more than 6,000 Machinists Union jobs for workers from Everett all the way south to Portland.”
Along with the job security language, Machinists Union workers at Boeing will receive 2 percent general wage increases, along with a cost of living increase.
Those raises will show up in Boeing paychecks next week. In addition, union members who were on the payroll in December already received a $5,000 ratification bonus.
Besides those boosts to the pocketbook, there’s one more less-tangible benefit that’s still very real, Wroblewski added.
“As a union, we’ve got a better working relationship with Boeing management,” he said. “We’re working together to better utilize your skills and knowledge to make production systems more efficient, and together we’re investing in the future of Washington’s aerospace industry.”
Wroblewski’s comments about the contract extension are included in this month’s AeroMechanic newsletter, which is now available online.
In addition, you can read about:
- Machinists in Everett who are using their union-negotiated benefits to learn Six Sigma management techniques that are helping them identify and resolve production bottlenecks on the 767 line;
- The Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee, founded by District 751, which has been honored by the U.S. Department of Laboras a trailblazer in workforce training;
- The Washington State Labor Council convention in Wenatchee, where District 751 continued to show strong support for Jay Inslee and his candidacy for Washington governor; and
- The union’s community service and charity fund-raising events in August.
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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 32,000 working men and women at 48 employers across Washington, Oregon and California.
For more information about District 751, read the Machinists News.
