The Boeing Co.’s recent surge of orders for the 737 MAX is validating the vote by Machinists Union members to extend their contract with the company for four more years, the union’s district president said.
“We know now — as certain as anything can be in this world — that we’ll be building 737 MAXs in Renton for at least the next 10 years,” wrote Tom Wroblewski, the president of Machinists Union District Lodge 751.
“That means means we can count on having 6,000 people doing final assembly in Renton, or fabricating parts in Auburn and Portland or doing wire bundles and interior components in Everett, for the next decade,” he wrote.
Wroblewski’s comments came in his monthly message to union members in the current issue of the AeroMechanic newsletter, which is now available online.
The December vote to approve the contract extension came with a guarantee that Boeing will build the 737 MAX in Renton. Along with securing the jobs of thousands of Machinists Union members, the contract extension will also be a great benefit to Puget Sound communities, Wroblewski wrote.
“The paychecks we’ll spend over the next 10 years will support our local communities, and the taxes that we pay will provide for better schools, roads and public services,” he wrote. “It’s all goodness, especially when you consider the alternative.”
Also in this month’s AeroMechanic, you can read:
- A report on how employees of URS Corp. at Joint Base Lewis-McChord are getting their first raises in three years, after ratifying their first union contract on July 19;
- A story on how the union and Boeing are working together through IAM/Boeing Joint Programs to help local school teachers learn more about the kinds of skills that are required to work at Boeing — and how to teach them;
- A report on money raised by District 751 volunteers to benefit Guide Dogs of America in June — including coverage of the 21st annual Guide Dogs of America Charity Golf Tournament, which brought in another $11,000 for the organization; and
- Photos of District 751 members and their families attending Membership Appreciation Fairs in Monroe and Puyallup on July 14.
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 2011, 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.
