Board ousts SPEEA leader

The engineering and technical workers union at Boeing has been thrown into turmoil by the surprise firing of longtime leader Charles Bofferding.

The seven-member executive board of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace voted Tuesday night to discontinue its executive director's contract, effective immediately, said SPEEA spokesman Bill Dugovich.

Dugovich, who was named SPEEA's interim chief of staff, declined to disclose how the board voted or comment on why Bofferding's contract was terminated, saying he first wanted to consult with the union's attorney.

Bofferding said to The Associated Press that he was told the board voted 4-3 to end his contract and give him a lump sum of 30 weeks' pay. Bofferding earns $170,000 a year.

Tom McCarty, a Northwest regional vice president on the board, said he was among the three who voted against terminating Bofferding's contract, noting in an e-mail to The AP that four board members "have decided that Charles Bofferding does not carry out the board's instructions for the management of SPEEA and the representation of its members in a manner which is satisfactory to those board members."

Bofferding said he did not attend the meeting and that he has no recourse to challenge the action because the board exercised a clause in his contract that permits ending his employment without citing problems with job performance.

Bofferding noted that SPEEA's 120-member council, which sets the union's policy, can overturn board decisions, but not in cases related to staffing.

The council meets tonight.

Nevertheless, Bofferding said he would wait and see if members seek to challenge the board's move.

"SPEEA is a very democratic organization," Bofferding told The Associated Press.

"At the end of the day, the members get to make decisions, and that's the way it should be. ... We'll see if this sticks or not.

"If members believe this decision is in their best interests, it should stand," Bofferding added. "If they don't feel it is in their best interests, then they'll find a way to do something about it."

Dugovich insisted Bofferding was not fired, saying the board exercised a clause in the contract that allows it to discontinue the agreement, providing him with severance and other settlements.

The contract did not have an expiration date, Dugovich said.

Other union sources confirmed the board voted 4-3 to oust Bofferding, who has run SPEEA's staff since 1991.

Some union members — who number 24,400, including about 20,000 in the Puget Sound area — are unhappy with his firing.

They're even more incensed the board appears to have acted secretively. It did not talk to members about any unhappiness with Bofferding or its intent to discontinue his contract, said Alan Rice, a former board member and current council representative.

Union members could overturn the decision by recalling certain board members and electing new ones who could reinstate Bofferding, said Rice, who works on Boeing 787 systems integration in Everett.

Bofferding led a successful 40-day strike in 2000 and negotiated a contract that won hefty pay raises for Boeing engineers and technical staff in December 2005.

Three weeks ago, technical workers at a Boeing plant in Wichita, Kan., voted to decertify SPEEA, ending representation for about 900 employees.

An engineering unit representing 700 at the Wichita plant remains under SPEEA representation. Union members also work in Oregon, Utah, Texas and California.

Some SPEEA members and retirees cheered the board's action.

"It's 20 years too late, but he finally got what he deserved," said Gary Carter, a retiree who worked as a manufacturing engineer for 35 years in Everett. "A bunch of us who are former Boeing employees would stand and hoot and holler and hope he doesn't get a cent from SPEEA once they've canned him."

Carter particularly disliked what he considered Bofferding's bias for professional engineers rather than technical workers.

Bofferding has been criticized by Dave Baine and Bob Wilkerson, who were elected to the executive board in March. Baine publicly accused Bofferding of running the union in an autocratic style.

Bofferding's most vocal critic is Michael Dunn, a Northwest regional vice president of the board who failed in a recent bid to become board president. During that election, Dunn and incumbent board member Jill Ritchey advocated a change of leadership.

Seattle Times staff writers Melissa Allison and Ángel González contributed to this report.