Skeptical strikers scrutinize Boeing offer

Leaders of Boeing Co.'s striking Machinists union on Thursday published details of a contract offer the union says protects more than 5,000 factory jobs, as workers expressed mixed opinions about the tentative deal.

The organization posted the latest changes to the proposal from the airplane maker on its Web site and recommended that the roughly 27,000 union members accept the offer in a vote scheduled for Saturday.

"The revisions ... provide job security to over 5,000 members that Boeing otherwise could have replaced with vendors and contractors inside the factory gates," the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in a statement.

A union vote to accept the offer would end an eight-week labor standoff that has eroded Boeing's profits and delayed deliveries of its commercial aircraft, including its long-postponed 787 jetliner.

The workers at plants in Washington state, Oregon and Kansas have foregone thousands of dollars in pay since the strike began. They will return to work starting Sunday night should they ratify the contract.

Chicago-based Boeing and the union agreed to the proposed contract late Monday after five days of negotiations with a federal mediator in Washington, D.C. Major sticking points included job security and health benefits.

The Machinists walked off the job Sept. 6 after rejecting earlier proposals from Boeing, forcing the airplane maker to close its commercial jet factories. The strike, now in its 55th day, is the union's fourth against Boeing in two decades.

The revised contract specifies that areas where parts and other goods are received from suppliers must be staffed by Boeing employees, including union workers. It also outlines plans for retraining or reassigning union workers for jobs at the same level if they are affected by certain changes implemented by Boeing.

The agreement, which was extended to four years from the three made in Boeing's final pre-strike offer, prevents the outsourcing of about 2,900 forklift operator and other jobs involved in delivering and tracking parts and supplies.

About 2,200 building maintenance workers are assured they can keep their jobs through the term of the contract, but any who leave through attrition may be replaced by outsourcing.

The deal also preserves the union's current medical benefits through 2012. The union said Boeing had sought to shift more of that cost to workers.

But workers picketing outside a Boeing assembly plant in Everett, Wash., and inside a nearby union hall expressed sharply differing opinions about the deal. Some awaited printed copies, while others had read the contract or parts of it online.

"I don't like it," said Kim Dove, who has worked for Boeing since 1997. "It's basically the 2005 contract with minimal changes."

The union struck for 28 days in 2005 before settling despite its opposition to contract provisions that gave subcontractors access to the shop floor. Parts and supply delivery has been a sore spot for the union since 2002.

Pointing to a thick printout of the contract, Dove conceded it included some improvements, such as new provisions on subcontracting and job protection. But he said he thought it would be difficult to uphold in a dispute with the company.

Also critical of the contract was Dan Swank, a 12-year Boeing veteran who works on the company's 787 jetliner. He said passages meant to bar work by an outside vendor of in-flight entertainment systems had been rendered ineffective.

Meanwhile, Kevin Dills, a 22-year Boeing veteran who installs wiring on the company's 777 airplane, said he liked changes on subcontracting, but remained unsure about how he would vote.

Dills said he was happy to see a fourth year added to the contract. "I wish they had gone five," he added.

Skip Thompson, a 21-year Boeing employee who assembles 747 materials and tool kits, said he was glad to see more workers were protected from layoffs during the term of the contract, but was disappointed their positions could still be outsourced after the contract expires.

The strike has cost the aerospace company an estimated $100 million daily in deferred revenue.

It remains unclear how long it would take Boeing's commercial aircraft business to return to pre-strike production levels, but the company's chief financial officer, James Bell, has said Boeing hopes it would take less than two months.

Boeing representatives have said the company will conduct an assessment once work resumes.

In an online statement union leaders wrote: "By any measure, this contract proposal is a good offer. Did it get everything, no. However, we made significant gains with respect to job security and the ability to help guide this company into the future."

Shares of Boeing rose 90 cents, or nearly 2 percent, to $50.70 on Thursday.

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Associated Press Writer Tim Klass in Seattle contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers: http://www.iam751.org/contract08.htm

Boeing Co.: http://www.boeing.com/2008negotiations/