Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has put so much pressure on its suppliers to cut costs and boost its bottom line that it has “destroyed the health” of its production, says Jon Holden, president of the IAM union – District 751.
“Boeing has spent a lot of time, since 2012, putting its supply chain under pressure by forcing its suppliers to reduce their prices, year after year,” said the head of this company in an interview with AFP. branch of the International Union of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) in Seattle (northwest).
It has nearly 32,000 members, including some 30,000 Boeing employees.
The group has sold “factories, to reduce its net assets,” says Mr Holden. “I don’t have a problem with efficiency. But I do have a problem when it destroys the health of the production system.”
And, “in wanting to be more efficient, they have eliminated important positions considered redundant, such as quality assurance,” he laments.
For many months, the giant has been accumulating production problems with its three commercial aircraft currently on the market: the 737 – its flagship aircraft –, the 787 Dreamliner and the 777. An in-flight incident on an Alaska Airlines plane on January 5 was the last straw.
Since then, Boeing has been working to clean up its processes under the close supervision of the FAA regulator. Focusing first on the 737 factory in Renton, near Seattle.
The union, along with the engineers’ union, the SPEEA, has been demanding two seats on the board of directors for several months to “participate in changes (…) likely to affect the production process.”
“Learning”
“We’ve never asked for this in the past, but it’s about our reputation, our jobs, our livelihood,” the union leader said. “We care about this company and we have the right to have a say in certain changes.”
A request reiterated during the negotiations for the next collective agreement, launched on March 8.
Above all, he calls for a “substantial” salary increase, of at least 40% over three years, as well as better social benefits (health insurance, retirement) and job security.
The latter involves Boeing’s commitment that its next plane – announced for 2035 – will be manufactured in the region. “It’s a guarantee of employment for the next fifty years,” underlines Mr. Holden.
Dave Calhoun, boss of Boeing, assured a Senate committee of inquiry on June 16 that IAM union members would “definitely get a raise.” Without further details.
According to Jon Holden, pay has “stagnated for eight years” with only four 1% increases in that period despite “massive inflation”.
At this stage, the two parties have not reached an agreement on the major issues. The union plans, in order to break this status quo, “to soon increase the number of sessions and their duration.”
In order to instill a little pressure, its members must vote on July 17 on the principle of going on strike for lack of agreement on September 12 at midnight, the expiry of the current convention, which is sixteen years old. The last strike (57 days) dates back to 2008.
The union didn’t hold back: it reserved T-Mobile Park, home to the Seattle Mariners baseball team and with nearly 48,000 seats.
“When we are all present at this important event, the factory will be silent,” he writes on his website.
A contrast to the usual din rising from the assembly lines, especially when, as on Tuesday in Renton, a union demonstration marches along the aisles. With fog horns and slogans, placards in hand, AFP noted.
“We benefit from a strong leverage effect currently, and we will use it,” insists Mr. Holden, citing air traffic and a number of passengers “higher than pre-pandemic”.
“There is therefore a huge need for new aircraft, more fuel-efficient models,” he notes.
But production is currently being slowed down by production clean-up measures.
The future of Spirit AeroSystems, supplier, among other things, of 737 fuselages with numerous imperfections, is part of this system. After selling it in 2005, Boeing is currently negotiating its takeover.
Mr Holden said the acquisition would be “positive”: “It was absurd to part with it and in the long term it was not good for Boeing.”
He notes that Spirit is “an integral part of virtually every airplane built in the United States, even Airbuses. We all need it to be in good shape.”
