Boeing's white-collar union warns strike is possible at year-end

The white-collar engineering union at Boeing doesn't begin formal contract talks with management until later this year, but its leaders are already talking war with the company.

Senior officials with the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) told members at a lunchtime meeting Thursday in Seattle to start saving money to prepare for the possibility of a strike.

"The company does seem to be leading us down toward a crisis," said SPEEA's new executive director, Ray Goforth, as he prepared to go into a meeting of the union's executive council Thursday evening in Shoreline. He said a strike is "a very realistic possibility."

SPEEA's leadership is angry over several matters:

• Boeing's efforts to oust smaller units of the union in other states.

• Management's refusal to honor what union leaders see as commitments in the 2005 contract.

• Comments made to them in a private meeting this month by commercial-airplanes chief Scott Carson that they consider aggressively anti-union.

Negotiations begin in earnest in the fall and climax Dec. 1, when the current three-year contract expires.

SPEEA President Cynthia Cole said she's advising members to set aside part of their 2007 incentive bonuses the company began to pay Wednesday, as well as a portion of coming paychecks.

"I'm starting my strike fund," she said.

Boeing spokesman Tim Healy said the company is "committed to continuing dialogue with SPEEA," but is concerned "that these kinds of statements are being made before we even begin the formal negotiation process."

Boeing's engineers have had an extended strike only once before. Eight years ago this month, the union began a 40-day strike that crippled Boeing and won what was considered a landmark victory.

Boeing can ill afford a strike this time. It is grappling with serious technical issues on its new 787 Dreamliner program and ramping up major engineering projects for the new 747-8 and the 777F jets.

That situation has contributed to an unusually amicable atmosphere between Boeing and the Machinists union, which is typically more strident than SPEEA.

Machinists district President Tom Wroblewski has talked up the improved relations with Boeing since Carson succeeded Alan Mulally. In the past year, Machinists negotiated concessions giving back pay to rehired workers.

In contrast, Boeing has supported efforts to decertify smaller SPEEA bargaining units at plants in California, Kansas and Utah.

SPEEA lost its right to represent workers at Boeing Wichita; succeeded in fighting off the Utah decertification; and is resisting a similar effort in Palmdale, Calif.

SPEEA officials in Wichita also face a decertification drive at the former Boeing parts plant, now Spirit AeroSystems. Goforth believes Boeing is supporting that, too.

"Boeing is still coordinating things with some of its major suppliers," he said.

Boeing declined to comment on that claim.

According to union officials, an initial meeting Feb. 4 between Goforth and Carson was very frank.

Goforth said Carson made "overt" statements that "the company will continue to support efforts to get rid of the unions at Boeing."

Cole, who was also present, said Boeing's top labor negotiator, Doug Kight, told them two issues left open in the 2005 talks that were to have been resolved within a year would now have to be part of the 2008 negotiations.

She said Kight also expressed a "desire to dismantle our pension plan and our health-benefit plan."

"Things got a little heated," Cole said.

Boeing's Healy declined to comment on what occurred.

That meeting came on Goforth's official first day on the job.

"It was somewhat disconcerting to see the rhetoric and the tenor already in a bad place," Goforth said. "It doesn't have to be that way. Members of this union take pride in working for the Boeing Company. They are somewhat bewildered by the provocative stance."

Still, his assessment of Carson was not negative.

"I came away from that meeting liking the guy," said Goforth. "I didn't like what he was saying, but I liked his candor and I appreciated it."

Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 or dgates@seattletimes.com