To strike, or not to strike, that is the question.

[Stallion]

Well tomorrow we vote on our new contract and if things go the way they most people want them to , I'll be on strike for about 4 months or more.

Right now the state of Washington has the 2nd highest unemployment rate in the nation. Over 28,000 other boeing employees have been laid off already and each month that number grows.

And yet alot of people here are willing to go on strike for reasons that just don't seem to make sence to me.

For the past 14 years my medical has been paid in full buy Boeing. They now want us to pay $200 a month. It is a steep jump from zero but not an unreasonable one considering how much the average joe pays. My deductible would go from $125 to $300.

And the biggest one for a lot of the people is the retirement issue. Right now Boeing pays them $50 for every year of service per month.

So a 30 year employee would get $1500 a month when they retire. On top of SS and their 401K The new contract raises that to $58 in the first year of the contract then $59 and $60 ,respectively, in the next two years.

That is on the top of the 401K we have which is a great plan.

The majority though wants more like $70+ per year. The union was asking for $120..

Right now is one of the worst time for the airplane industry. no one flies, no one needs new planes. Simple as that...
But not everyone sees it that way. They think Boeing owes them I guess.

I get paid a tremendous ammount of money as do we all here. It just blows me away that some people, many with no schooling at all, could want more and more and more.

There are more issues at stake here but those are the key players.

Damn, what to do...................

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

Damn, what to do...................

Get out of the system that molds you into a robot who makes money for someone else.

 

[XMan]

Cross the picket line. Can you honestly say the union is giving you services worth what you pay in union dues?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: X-Man
Cross the picket line. Can you honestly say the union is giving you services worth what you pay in union dues?

agreed. Unions are nothing but a hinderence<sp?> at this point. Companies and workers are being strangled by corrupt organizations.

 

[Red Dawn]

For the past 14 years my medical has been paid in full buy Boeing. They now want us to pay $200 a month. It is a steep jump from zero but not an unreasonable one considering how much the average joe pays.

Fsck that! That's like a cut in Pay. You think Boeing was paying your medical out of the goodness of their heart? NO!! That was part of your package. Instead of the money to pay for your medical they paid for it themselves..at a discount rate. Now they want you to pay $200.00 a month? Are they going to give you a cost of living raise plus an additional $200.00 a month?

Companies and workers are being strangled by corrupt organizations.

Yeah like those who worked for Enron or Worldcom?

Beoing isn't Mother Teresa and right now they are using the decline in orders for their planes to cut your wages so they can keep their profit margin. Sure there
should be some concessions on the part of the Union but Medical Benefits shouldn't be one.

 

[UltraQuiet]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: X-Man
Cross the picket line. Can you honestly say the union is giving you services worth what you pay in union dues?

agreed. Unions are nothing but a hinderence<sp?> at this point. Companies and workers are being strangled by corrupt organizations.

If you think the unions are any more corrupt than the companies are you are very naive. You think Boeing would pay those workers what they are making now if there wasn't a union? Companies are no more forced to sign a contract than the unions are.

 

[Cyberian]

Originally posted by: X-Man
Cross the picket line. Can you honestly say the union is giving you services worth what you pay in union dues?

There is probably very little work to be done if everyone else in the plant is on strike.
It could also be hazardous to your health.

 

[Geekbabe]

Having worked for years in non-union places I've recently accepted a job in an organization with a strong union.

Thanks to the union, I'm going to be enjoying a fair rate of pay, and a great benefits package. More importantly, as a union member should there ever be a problem at my job, I weill have union representation and help, there are rules in place for workers and the company,rules that were agreed on by both sides.


No more working every holiday,endless weekends and nights without fair compensation,no more arbitary shift rotations,no more being powerless if a manager goes psycho, regular step increases in pay, with the requirements for each step clearly spelled out, a grivance panel.A group of co-workers who aren't totally burned out and demoralized who actually enjoy their jobs and are proud of where they work.


The power of collective bargaining is just fine with me !

 

[tcsenter]

Well tomorrow we vote on our new contract and if things go the way they most people want them to, I'll be on strike for about 4 months or more. Right now the state of Washington has the 2nd highest unemployment rate in the nation. Over 28,000 other boeing employees have been laid off already and each month that number grows. And yet alot of people here are willing to go on strike for reasons that just don't seem to make sence to me

Your post opened almost eerily (is that a word?) similar to the sentiment of a dozen former steel workers interviewed on 60 Minutes about 10 years back. Basically, they said something to the effect of "Here was the company that had been struggling along for several years due to foreign competition and a recession, several thousand of our union brothers and sisters had already lost their jobs, other steel plants were closing, and we were demanding a pay raise, more paid days off, less hours, better benefits, fighting every one of the company's requests tooth and nail. Hell we threatened to go on strike. The union kept telling us not to worry, that the company always had a 'second set of books', one that it showed the union, and the 'real' numbers they didn't show the union, so we would think the company was in dire straights. There was no second set of books, there never was."

We all know what happened next, after a protracted labor dispute, the company locked them out and folded. Militant unions WILL lead their members straight off a cliff rather than allow the membership to think the union cannot protect them. The perception of a 'strong and unified' union who dictates the terms to the company, not the other way around, is more important than the reality. If the members begin to fear for the company's future survival and thus their jobs, whether or not that fear is valid, the union loses the power it weilds over its members and power is everything to the union. Solidarity, brother, all the way to the unemployment line...

If you think the unions are any more corrupt than the companies are you are very naive. You think Boeing would pay those workers what they are making now if there wasn't a union?

If the workers cannot command that wage on the open market, their labor is clearly not worth it. I would not want to be paid a nickel more than what an employer is freely willing to pay me without threat of economic extortion.

Companies are no more forced to sign a contract than the unions are.

haha, you've got to be joking. Threat of economic extortion is HOW LABOR UNIONS WORK, that is their stated purpose! Economic extortion falls under the category of "duress" by any rational standard.

First you imply that Boeing wouldn't willingly pay those wages without someone forcing them to (i.e. a union), then you contradict yourself by saying that nobody is forcing them to sign those contracts. Get your story straight!