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Boeing Gets an Earful

Thursday July 31, 2008
IAM Communications Department

IAM leaders urged Boeing Company officials to think twice before proposing a substandard contract offer for 26,000 Machinists in Washington, Kansas and Oregon, who assemble the company’s commercial aircraft, including the next generation 787 Dreamliner.

Speaking on a conference call for investors and journalists that was co-sponsored by the IAM and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IAM Aerospace Coordinator Mark Blondin warned that Boeing’s current position at the bargaining table will need to improve considerably to avoid a strike. “So far, all they are talking about are take-aways,” said Blondin, who leads the IAM’s Bargaining Committee. “If that continues over the next couple of week, they’re in deep trouble.”

The IAM struck Boeing for 28 days in 2005 over a divisive contract offer that failed to acknowledge the surge in profits and aircraft orders Boeing was experiencing. Despite current delays due to Boeing’s global outsourcing strategy, the company remains awash in orders and profits.

The goal of the current negotiations remains a contract that can be ratified, and a company that continues to thrive, rather than a strike. “We want to ensure that we come out of these negotiations with something that is going to be good for us, good for the company and good for the future – not only in Seattle, Wichita and Portland, but good for America,” said Headquarters GVP Rich Michalski, who moderated the call.

The conference call included the IAM, SPEEA and more than fifty Wall Street analysts, investment managers and pension fund representatives. Together, the IAM and SPEEA represent more than 50,000 employees at Boeing.

“This round of negotiations is shaping up to be particularly critical for the future direction of Boeing,” said David White, IAM Assistant Director of Strategic Resources, who pointed out that three of the last four contract cycles for IAM and SPEEA resulted in strikes at Boeing. “Our members have delivered for management. Now its time for Mr. McNerney and his executive team to acknowledge this contribution.”

To hear a replay of the hour-long forum, call 1-800-475-6701, passcode: 955367.

IAM Members Killed in Wisconsin Paper Mill Blast

Thursday July 31, 2008
IAM Communications Department

Two members of Local 1713, District W-3, were killed this week when a six-story high storage tank exploded at a paper mill in northern Wisconsin.
 
The explosion took the lives of 34-year member Steve Voermans and 31-year member Randy Hoegger, 56, who were performing maintenance on top of the tank used to store recycled fibers. Also killed in the explosion was 46-year old Donald Snyder, a production superintendent at the facility. A fourth employee, Alex Loka, who just became an IAM member, was working at the base of the tank when the blast occurred. He was treated for injuries at a local hospital and released.

“Every effort will be made to uncover the cause of this deadly explosion, but at this time our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the workers who were killed and injured,” said Headquarters GVP Rich Michalski. “More than 5,000 workers die every year in workplace accidents, but each one is a heartbreaking reminder of how lethal our workplaces can suddenly become.”
 
IAM Health and Safety personnel will take part in the investigation to determine the cause of the explosion, while the IAM Community Services Department has already dispatched Certified Employee Assistance Program personnel to the scene to provide counseling and assistance for co-workers.

The mill where the explosion occurred is located in Tomahawk, WI, and owned by Packaging Corp. of America, which operates four paper mills and 67 corrugated product plants in 26 states.

Your Chance to Win a New Harley
Tuesday July 22, 2008

Don’t miss out on a chance to win a Vivid Black Rocker C Harley-Davidson. Tickets are on sale now for $5 each or six for $20. Proceeds of the raffle will help fund the 37th Grand Lodge Convention.

The Host Committee will draw the winning ticket during the Grand Lodge Convention in Orlando, FL.  The Rock C is “the next degree of custom,” according to Bill Davidson, son of Willie G. and great grandson of Harley-Davidson co-founder William A Davidson. Tickets are available at your District and/or Territory office.

District 725 Delegate Body Meeting
Saturday July 19, 2008
Huntington Beach, CA
11:00 a.m.

The third regularly scheduled District Lodge 725 Delegate Body meeting will be held on Saturday July 19, 2008 in Huntington Beach, California. The meeting will begin promptly at 11:00 a.m.

They said it couldn’t happen. The industry experts and defense analysts who track the aerospace industry said there was no way the Government Accounting Office (GAO) would ever recommend an overhaul of the $35 billion tanker contract that was awarded earlier this year to EADS/Airbus over Boeing.

But the so-called experts were wrong. Not only did the GAO recommend a new round of bidding, but they rebuked the Air Force decision to award the contract to Airbus in blunt and unequivocal terms.

“Our review of the record led us to conclude that the Air Force made a number of significant errors that could have affected the outcome of what was a close competition between Boeing and Northrop Grumman,” the GAO said. “We therefore sustain Boeing's protest.”

The 69-page GAO decision was not made public because it contains proprietary and sensitive information about the Boeing and Northrop tanker bids. But the GAO did issue a three-page summary that found significant mistakes by the Air Force in seven key areas.

Among the points made in the GAO report was that the Air Force did not assess the relative merits of the tanker proposals in accordance with the criteria it initially established. The GAO also cited the Air Force for conducting "misleading and unequal discussions" with Boeing by informing Boeing that it had fully satisfied a key performance objective, but later determined privately that Boeing had not. The GAO also concluded the Air Force miscalculated the life-cycle costs of Boeing's tanker, and incorrectly concluded that the Northrop tanker would have lower operating costs.

The IAM enthusiastically welcomed the GAO report as the foundation for reversing the award without delay. “Not only is the Boeing aircraft superior, but we can begin building these planes right away,” said GVP Rich Michalski, who urged IAM members to contact lawmakers and demand the contract be awarded to the workers, the aircraft and the company that won it in the first place.

The IAM renewed its call for the controversial tanker refueling contract to be reversed following news that the U.S. Air Force awarded the $35 billion contract based on errors that favored the Airbus tanker over a version of Boeing’s 767.

“This process has been deeply flawed from the beginning,” said Headquarters GVP Rich Michalski. “First, the Air Force admitted they never took into account the employment consequences of awarding a multi-billion contract to a company based in France. Now we learn they used grossly inaccurate numbers to compare operating costs of the two aircraft. It’s clear that Boeing won this competition and they should be awarded the right to build these planes.”

The Air Force recently admitted it miscalculated the life-cycle costs of operating Boeing’s refueling tanker by at least $36 million per aircraft and that it awarded the contract to the more expensive proposal for an Airbus tanker. The recent increase in fuel prices makes the cost difference between operating the two aircraft even larger.

Additionally, the Air Force said earlier this year that it was not required to consider the employment impact of outsourcing such a large defense contract.

“We need to decide as a nation if billions in taxpayer dollars should be used to support job creation programs overseas while this country slips deeper into recession,” said Michalski.

The IAM has led a sustained grassroots effort to overturn the tanker award, with members in all 50 states contacting lawmakers and urging an investigation of the process that resulted in the Airbus design being chosen over one based on Boeing’s 767, a model with more than 10 million hours of commercial flying time.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers celebrates its 120th anniversary this week. It was on the evening of May 5, 1888 that railroad machinist Tom Talbot held a secret meeting with eighteen fellow machinists in a locomotive engine pit in Atlanta, Georgia. That meeting was the foundation of the IAM.

Unemployment was high in the 1880s and people were still hurting from the ravages of a depression of the 1870s. With 10-hour days, unsafe working conditions and declining wages (journeymen machinists, at $2.00 an hour, were earning about half as much as twenty years earlier), the need for workers to unite and organize was never greater.

First named the Order of United Machinists and Mechanical Engineers of America, Tom Talbot became the union’s first president. With the help of “Boomers,” Machinists organizers who traveled by rail, membership grew to 4,000 in just two years.

With less than two months remaining before the Government Accountability Office is set to rule on a formal objection filed by Boeing, opponents of the U.S. Air Force’s decision to award a $40 billion tanker contract to Airbus and Northrop Grumman are stepping up the pressure.

Boeing, which has been supplying tankers to the Air Force for nearly half a century, took out a full page ad in the Washington Post stressing the importance of experience and expertise in securing the tanker contract.

“Designing, building, certifying and delivering tanker aircraft and booms is a complex, high-risk process,” the ad states. “Boeing’s track record of superior management of complex military programs is unsurpassed.”

Union members, meanwhile, continue to flood lawmakers with petitions protesting the deal. You can send a message to Congress telling them “U.S. Forces Deserve U.S. Tankers” by clicking here.

Lawmakers also continue to remain active in their opposition. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), along with seven other Senators, recently sent a letter to President Bush questioning the decision.

Machinists gathered this week for a solemn service to honor fellow members who perished on the job or from work-related conditions during the past year. The names of five IAM members were inscribed on bricks and set among 240 others at the IAM Workers’ Memorial on the grounds of the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Southern Maryland.

Added to the IAM memorial this year were: Eugene (Geno) Campagna, Local 1529; Thomas Cherry, Local 83; Danny Givens, District 75; Rick Smith, District 837 and Denise Wilson of Local 1833.

“We don’t forget our brothers and sisters,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger, in an address to students and staff at the Winpisinger Center before the names of the fallen were read to the tolling of a bell. “We need to think about their lives and their sacrifice. They were loyal and true and they deserve to be remembered.”

This year’s service was the 20th annual observance of Workers’ Memorial Day, which began in Canada and is now observed in thousands of annual services around the world. More than 5,800 workers were killed in work-related accidents last year, with up to 60,000 perishing from work-related illnesses. Millions more are injured each year.

Among the students at the Winpisinger Center this week were IAM members taking part in the Spanish Leadership I course. Coincidently, the U.S. Department of Labor recently released their annual statistics showing the death and injury rate for Hispanic workers exceeding all other ethnic groups in the United States.

For twenty years the IAM has been observing Worker Memorial Day, honoring those men and women who gave the ultimate sacrafice to the job. Click the link below to watch a brief video about this year's ceremony.

You Are Not Forgotten

The second regularly scheduled District Lodge 725 Delegate Body meeting will be held on Saturday April 19, 2008 in Huntington Beach, California. The meeting will begin promptly at 11:00 a.m.

In the midst of tough financial times for many families, the IAM is giving members a chance to save their hard-earned money by shopping online at the Machinists Mall on GOIAM.org.

Every time a member completes an online purchase through the Machinists Mall, they’ll earn Rebate Dollars for their purchases. On a quarterly basis, members who have accumulated at least $10 in Rebate Dollars will be converted into a check and mailed to them.
The Machinists Mall offers an extensive selection of retailers for members to choose from, offering a wide range of products including home appliances, clothing and electronics.

Click here to visit the Machinists Mall and start earning your rebate dollars.

The IAM announced today that they have reached three tentative agreements with aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Corporation that cover nearly 6,000 Machinists at eight Lockheed facilities throughout the country. The three-year accords secure the best pay package in the history of IAM-Lockheed negotiations, as well as historic improvements in pension benefits. The agreements are subject to approval by IAM members at ratification voting which will be held at all locations on March 2, 2008.

“Aerospace firms like Lockheed Martin are posting big profits and this agreement recognizes the key role our members play in making those profits possible,” said International President Tom Buffenbarger. “And at a time when American corporations are jettisoning pension plans, we improved defined-benefit pension benefits and ensured newly hired workers will be covered.”

The proposed agreements include a $2,000 ratification bonus in addition to wage increases of four percent in the first year, and three percent in the second and third years. The agreements also increase the pension benefit by $11 to $77 a month, which would give IAM members the highest pension in the aerospace industry. Improvements in health care coverage, insurance benefits and other retire benefits are also included.

“These agreements set a high standard in the aerospace industry for wages and benefits,” said IAM Aerospace Coordinator John Crowdis, who led the negotiating teams from eight IAM locations. “The leadership for each of the locations did an outstanding job to make this a successful round of negotiations not only for their respective sites, but for the Machinists union as a whole.”

Negotiators representing IAM members at Lockheed Martin facilities in Palmdale, Sunnyvale, Santa Cruz and Vandenberg AFB, California; Cape Canaveral, Florida; Marietta, Georgia; Meridian, Mississippi; Clarksburg, West Virginia will return to their respective locations to present the entire agreements to the membership. Informational and ratification meetings will be held at all locations on March 2, 2008.

Details of the agreements are posted on www.goiam.org/lockheed.

With their current contract set to expire at midnight on March 2nd, negotiations between the IAM and Lockheed Martin are heading into the home stretch as IAM negotiators look to secure a solid contract for nearly 6,000 IAM members at eight Lockheed locations.

After months of preparation, negotiations kicked off in Palm Springs, CA on February 17th and are scheduled to continue through Wednesday. Over the past 10 days, members of the IAM negotiating committee have honed in on the issues members cited as their top concerns: pensions, health care, wages and job security.

“The negotiating committee has been working diligently to ensure they leave here with a contract they can take back to the membership that addresses pensions, health care and all of the issues our members have said they are concerned about,” IAM Aerospace Coordinator John Crowdis said. “We are making progress, but there are still significant differences that need to be worked out.”

Members from Palmdale, Sunnyvale, Santa Cruz and Vandenberg AFB California; Cape Canaveral, Florida; Marietta, Georgia; Meridian, Mississippi; Clarksburg, West Virginia will vote simultaneously on March 2, 2008.

A special IAM website will continue to provide updates on the progress of negotiations.

On February 14, 2008 an overwhelming majority of Pacific Treatment Environmental Services workers at Fort Irwin in Barstow, CA voted to join the IAM. These highly skilled maintenance mechanics, heavy equipment operators and waste disposal techs perform necessary environmental services for  the U.S. Army.

“These workers were tired of being paid minimum wage and minimum benefits for the work they do,” Organizing Director Brian Miller said. “Their wages simply were not keeping up with the cost of living. They contacted Local Lodge 25 member Jesse Hodges and he put them in touch the District Organizing Department. After establishing the in-plant organizing committee, we gathered enough signatures to file for an election with the National Labor Relations Board.”

 The District 725 Organizing Department conducted a “Union YES” blitz from February 8th through February 10th in Barstow, CA and secured enough signatures to proceed with the election. On election day, the bargaining unit employees prevailed by a 60% margin.

“These workers are eager to begin the collective bargaining process,” Brian Miller said. “On Thursday March 6, 2008 the bargaining unit elected Robert Baker as their negotiator and Bob Miller as their alternate negotiator. They will work with Business Representative Al Rosales to negotiate the wage and benefit increases these workers desperately need.”

“Congratulations to our newest IAM members.” President/DBR Gary Holt said. “We are proud that they selected us to represent them and with their help we will bring back a contract for the approval of the membership.”

After months of preparations and in the midst of record-breaking profits for the aerospace industry, IAM leaders today launched the opening round of negotiations for a new contract covering nearly 6,000 members at eight Lockheed-Martin locations. Union members cited pensions, health care, wages and job security as top concerns heading into negotiations.

“These negotiations are the opportunity for workers and management to establish levels of compensation and respect that are essential to continued success in this volatile industry,” said Machinists President Tom Buffenbarger at the initial meeting with Lockheed representatives. “It is also critical to provide this sophisticated workforce with the training and technology that will allow them to be as productive in the future as they have been in the past.”

Signaling the importance of the Lockheed Martin contract, Buffenbarger was joined by IAM General Vice President (GVP) Rich Michalski, Western Territory GVP Lee Pearson, Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez and local IAM representatives from Palmdale, Sunnyvale, Santa Cruz and Vandenberg AFB California; Cape Canaveral, Florida; Marietta, Georgia; Meridian, Mississippi; Clarksburg, West Virginia.

“The importance of these negotiations is profound,” said IAM Aerospace Coordinator John Crowdis. “What happens here will set the curve for aerospace negotiations over the next three years.”

A special IAM website  will provide updates on the progress of negotiations, which will continue through February 27, with IAM members at all locations expected to vote simultaneously on March 2. The current three-year agreement expires at midnight on March 2, 2008. Click here to visit this website.

District Lodge 837 President/DBR Rick Smith of O’Fallon, MO passed away at the age of 60. A machinist by trade and 41-year IAM member, he served his fellow brothers and sisters in various capacities over the years, including Shop Steward, Plant Chairman, and Local 837-B Recording Secretary. In 1994, he became a Business Representative for District 837, and since 1998, led the District as President/DBR.

“This is a great loss,” said IAM Midwest GVP Phil Gruber. “Rick Smith exemplified the very essence of service. Throughout his career in the IAM and the labor movement, it was his integrity and dedication to making life better for others - no matter how difficult the circumstances - that encouraged and inspired all who were privileged to know him.”

Rick is survived by his wife, Nancy; children, Richard, Eric and Stacie and their families. The family asks that memorial donations be sent to Guide Dogs of America-St. Louis, c/o Jim Marshall, 212 Utz Lane, Hazelwood, MO 63042.

After more than 19 months of intensive bargaining, members Local Lodge 727-P, in Palmdale, CA, voted on January 21, 2008 to ratify their first contract with Pratt & Whitney.

Terms of the hard won first agreement include a $1250.00 contract ratification bonus, $1.30 per hour equity adjustment effective January 21, 2008, 8.5% in General Wage Increases over the life of the three year agreement (3.5% GWI effective March 3, 2008, 2.5% effective March 2, 2009 and March 1, 2010), a binding grievance and arbitration procedure, union security language and improvements to medical and pension benefits.

These proud new IAM members at Edwards Air Force Base include highly-skilled mechanics, inspectors and support personnel who work on Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines for the F-22 Raptor program. Pratt’s latest engine powering the F-22 is designated the F119, considered to be the world’s most advanced fighter engine. The two F119’s per F-22 Raptor provide the ability for supersonic cruising without the use of afterburners.

“I’d like to recognize Business Representative Mike Palazzo, the District Lodge 725 staff and especially Shop Negotiating Committee members Ted Hyatt and Victor Rico, who held the unit together during this long and difficult process,” said Aerospace Coordinator Frank Santos. “Special recognition goes to all 15 members of the unit, who stood united throughout this extensive journey to a first agreement.”

The union’s negotiating committee included bargaining unit members Ted Hyatt and Victor Rico, Business Representative Mike Palazzo, President/DBR Gary Holt & IAM Aerospace Coordinator Frank Santos.

The first regularly scheduled District Lodge 725 Delegate Body meeting will be held on Saturday January 19, 2008 in Huntington Beach, California. The meeting will begin promptly at 11:00 a.m.

On January 16, 2008 an overwhelming majority of L-3 Vertex workers on the F/A-18 program at Naval Air Station Lemoore voted to join the IAM. These highly skilled mechanics, electricians and painters perform depot level maintenance on these aircraft for the U.S. Navy.

“The workers asked for our help because their wages weren’t keeping up with the cost of living, and company policies were being applied in an arbitrary manner,” Organizing Director Brian Miller said.  “They realized the only way to earn management’s respect and improve their wages and working conditions was through collective bargaining.”

“Congratulations to our new IAM members, as well as District 725 Organizing Director Brian Miller and Business Representative John Fox for another successful organizing drive under the Service Contract Act,” Western Territory GVP Lee Pearson said. “Fundamental rights on the job and pay equity are well-deserved by mechanics like these, who help keep our armed forces safe and functioning.”

Area 1 Director Virginia Cobb reported that the Mechanics and Vehicle Service Technicians at American Medical Response (AMR) in San Diego ratified their  first agreement with the company on December 21, 2007.

The three-year contract is the result of 14 months of intensive bargaining and provides 11% in General Wage Increases over the life of the contract, ratification bonuses, a formal grievance procedure with binding arbitration, safety-shoe reimbursements, $3.00 per hour for On Call employees, $1.00 per hour night shift premium, eight paid holidays per year, health, dental and vision coverage and seniority provisions.

“These new members – mechanics, technicians and service coordinators – perform an integral function in the maintenance of AMR’s ambulances in San Diego,” said Western Territory GVP Lee Pearson. “They deserve nothing less than reasonable compensation and a fair set of work rules. District 725  Business Representative Virginia Cobb and Negotiating Committee member Baltazar Molinar did an outstanding job laying the groundwork for our members with this first contract.”

The IAM's i-Mail is an Internet based communication tool that was launched recently. IAM members can receive a short email containing a hyperlink to the most recent news items involving IAM members, Local Lodges and District Lodges. Published once or twice a week, i-Mail also highlights the best web sites in the labor movement. Don't delay, sign up for i-Mail today!

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