Boeing engineers, others OK contract

SEATTLE — Boeing Co.'s engineering and technical employees in the Puget Sound region and three other states approved new three-year labor contracts, the union and company announced.

Votes were counted on two contract offers. The contract for the Professional Unit, covering 12,115 engineers, was approved by 89.5 percent of the members voting. The vote was 6,085 to accept the offer and 711 to reject, the union said Thursday.

The Technical Unit contract, covering 5,763 technical workers, was approved by 84.1 percent of the voting members. The count was 2,996 voting to accept and 566 to reject.

A simple majority was required to approve the deals, which replace contracts that expired on Thursday.

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace had recommended approval of tentative deals the company and union reached Nov. 15.

The union represents nearly 18,000 engineers and technical workers in the Puget Sound region, Oregon, Utah and California.

Boeing said engineers will see average annual salaries rise to at least $95,884 over the course of the contract, up from $82,060 currently. Technical employees will see wages rise to at least $71,134 on average, up from $61,744 currently.

Chicago-based Boeing also agreed not to increase health-care costs for employees, and included engineers and technical workers in an incentive plan that could give employees as much as 20 days extra pay annually, based on the company's financial performance.

The company increased pension payouts to $70 per month for every year worked, up from $60 currently. It also increased its 401 (k) match slightly.

"This is an achievement by everyone involved," SPEEA executive director Charles Bofferding said. "With negotiations based on problem solving, rather than a fight, we broke new ground negotiating these contracts with Boeing management in Seattle."

Separate talks covering 785 SPEEA members in Wichita, Kan., started Nov. 8 to renew a contact that expires Dec. 5.

Union officials in Kansas have recommended that members reject the company's four-year contract offer there.

Members of Boeing's other major union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, walked off the job for four weeks in September after rejecting an initial offer. A revised offer gave the commercial airplane assembly workers better pension benefits and guaranteed no changes to current health-care premiums.