Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES
BOEING IS WORKING flat out to catch up on delayed airliner deliveries and resume production after 32,000 machinist-union workers voted overwhelmingly on 13 December to return to work .
The 68-day strike stopped deliveries of more than 30 airliners and suspended production of around the same number.
Despite the return to work, the US manufacturer's effort to catch up on the 235 airliners it originally expected to deliver in 1995 will be seriously hampered by the company's traditional one-week holiday shutdown. In spite of the backlog, the Seattle Company maintains that its 1996 delivery forecast remains officially unchanged at around 210.
"The last ten weeks have been a difficult time for all those who work at Boeing. Now, our challenge is to join together to get our production back on line," chairman Frank Shrontz and President Phil Condit say in a joint statement.
The new agreement between Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) includes several key breakthroughs and makes Boeing workers the highest paid in the US aerospace industry. The deal includes:
A four-year, rather than a standard three-year contract, over which average wages for union members will increase from $20.37 an hour to $23.20;
a 10% lump sum bonus for 1995, rather than 5%, as had been previously offered;
a 4.5% lump sum bonus for the second year, rather than the 3% originally offered;
Healthcare agreements under which no premiums will be paid as long as Boeing's costs rise no faster than the national average. The agreement therefore requires the union to help control costs, and includes cash incentives worth $1,200 for each worker over three years for staying with Boeing-suggested health-care schemes;
Boeing letter of understanding to retrain staff and transfer jobs in the event of further work being let to subcontractors.
The agreement with Boeing, which was agreed by more than 80% of the voters, is being studied carefully by IAM workers at other US aerospace companies where new contracts will have to be negotiated by the end of March 1996.
Workers at Pratt & Whitney successfully renegotiated a new deal at the beginning of December while negotiations start soon at Lockheed Martin, McDonnell Douglas and Rohr. The IAM represents around 150,000 US aerospace workers.
Source: Flight International
