Machinists Union and Boeing Agree on Incentive Pay Plan

A new incentive pay plan for Machinist Union workers at the Boeing Co. will reward them for improving on their already impressive performance.

“Our top goal was to ensure this plan paid out for the contribution our members make every day,” said Tom Wroblewski, the president of Machinists Union District Lodge 751.

The incentive pay plan is outlined in the current edition of the AeroMechanic newsletter, which is now available online.

The incentive plan was part of the pay and benefits package approved by Machinists Union members at Boeing in December, when they ratified a four-year contract extension.

Since the vote, a joint IAM/Boeing committee has met to establish the ground rules for the incentive plan.

Under the plan, which was introduced to union members at Boeing at their crew meetings in June, workers will receive incentive pay if they meet specified targets for improving their productivity, safety and quality of their work.

If they meet the targets, they’ll get payments of 2 percent of their gross pay, including overtime. If they exceed the targets, they’ll get more – up to a maximum payment of 4 percent. If they don’t hit the targets, they’ll still receive at least a minimum payout between 0.1 and 1.9 percent for any improvements made.

The incentive payments are in addition to the 2-percent raises the Machinists are getting in each year of the contract extension, and to their quarterly cost-of-living adjustments. Machinists got 19-cent-an-hour cost-of-living increases in the most-recent quarter.

Union members are expected to generate ideas for the improvements themselves, by proposing ways to make their work areas safer, and more efficient, Wroblewski said.

“This gives members an opportunity to take more control of the shop and their work processes, give them more input on workplace decisions, while sharing in the added success they help to create,” he said.

Also in this month’s AeroMechanic, you can read:

• Reports on District 751’s participation in the Washington State Labor Council’s convention to endorse political candidates, and District 751 lobbying efforts in Congress in support of the Export-Import Bank;
• An update on contract talks at Hytek Finishes, where the union and company have agreed to mediation;
• A report outlining the rights of union members to have a union steward go with them any time they’re called into a meeting with management that could lead to disciplinary action;
• Updates on the start of contract talks for Machinists Union members who work at the city of Woodinville;
• A report on how Boeing has honored a District 751 union steward in Everett for actions that saved the life of a co-worker; and
• Updates on the union’s community involvement, including a story about Machinists Union Local Lodge 86 members in Spokane who took part in the annual Bloomsday Run.

Originally formed in 1935 to represent hourly workers at Boeing, District Lodge 751 of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers now represents some 32,000 working men and women at 48 employers across Washington, Oregon and California. In December, District 751 members ratified a four-year contract extension with Boeing that ensured the 737 MAX will be built in Puget Sound.

For more information about District 751, read the Machinists News.