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Special Note: The Work in Progress Link is updated daily.

UAW supports Boeing protest on flawed tanker contract
Jobs with Justice Update
Local 887 Executive Board
All of the following nominations were unopposed.
President
Homer Marshall
1st Vice President
Marc Sas
Recording Secretary
Roger Wagner
Financial Secretary
Gary Sanders
2nd Vice President
Rei Zamora
Trustees
Dolphus Shaddock Jr., Jim Smith, Joe Loera
Board Members at Large
Larry Mast, Esther Diaz, Kent Beattie
Seargent of Arms
Joe Padilla
Guide
Ricardo Molina
Unit Chairs
Unit 6 - Bill Guerro
Unit 8 - Dave Smith
Unit 9 - Albert Granandos
Unit 10 - Paul Bolkunoff
Unit 12 - Cynthia Cohens
Unit 16 - Celeste Ponce
Unit 17 - John Baker
Retirees
Jerry Giron
Jobs and the Economy - After decades of disappointing wage growth
for many American workers, a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) shows that unionization significantly boosts the wages of low-wage
workers - by 20.6 percent. Unions also have a substantial impact on the wages of workers at the middle and top of the wage
distribution, but the report found that the effect for low-wage workers was the largest. The full report has been uploaded to the Bargaining at Work website, and can be accessed by clicking here.
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Over the weekend, casino workers, represented
by the Auto Workers (UAW), and their supporters gathered near the new MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Connecticut
for two days of protests against the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe's refusal to bargain. The union
won an election last fall to represent table game dealers at Foxwoods. The Tribe, which owns the casino, has challenged the
union election several times, saying federal labor law does not apply to a casino on tribal land, despite court rulings
stating otherwise
June Election Endorsements Now Available Online
The June 3rd, 2008 primary election is less than three weeks away. This election will determine
which local, state and federal candidates will be running in the November general election, and is an unrivaled opportunity
to get worker-friendly leaders on the ballot.
The California Labor Federation and state central labor councils have released their list of endorsements
for local, regional and statewide elections, in an effort to help working Californians make an informed choice at the polls.
Visit www.calaborfed.org/political/june_08.html for a complete list of endorsements.
Governor’s Budget Proposal Will Hurt Working Families
On Wednesday, Governor Schwarzenegger presented his revised budget, and the numbers have gotten worse since
January. The state's total shortfall for this fiscal year is now pegged at over $24 billion. The legislature has already acted
to address $7 billion worth of that problem, but the Governor's new budget proposes drastic cuts to plug the remaining $17
billion gap.
The cuts will devastate programs that our most vulnerable residents rely on, such as in-home supportive services
for low-income elderly and disabled Californians, and health care coverage for immigrant workers and low-income working parents.
Schwarzenegger’s budget would also force the UC and CSU systems to implement 7.4% and 10% fee increases,
a breach of the governor’s Higher Education Compact.
Read our new report on the budget cuts at http://www.calaborfed.org/issues/economy.html
L.A. Janitors Win Better Wages and Benefits
This week, 6,700 janitors in Los Angeles and Orange counties successfully negotiated one master contract that
will ensure fair wages and benefits for the workers, who have been struggling to win a fair contract since theirs expired last month. The new contract came just
days after the janitors launched a strike against employers who had refused to adequately raise wages for janitors who clean
some of the most expensive office buildings in the entire country.
The agreement will raise wages from $22,256 to $26,728 a year by the end of the four-year pact. Janitors will
continue to receive full employer-paid family healthcare and a pension, but now, for the first time, they will receive vision
coverage. Additionally, janitors that work on the outskirts of the county will now be able to move into higher-paying buildings
and earn better benefits based on seniority, once the contract is ratified.
Visit http://www.seiu1877.org/ to learn more.
Take Precautions to Avoid Heat-Related Illness
This week’s blistering heat wave has caused California’s Occupational Health and
Safety Board (Cal/OSHA) to release a set of recommendations aimed at preventing heat-related illness in the workplace. Cal/OSHA
is urging employers to plan outside work schedules to minimize heat exposure, provide employees with plenty of water and shade,
teach workers to recognize the signs of heat illness, and outline emergency procedures.
The first heat wave of the year poses a special threat, since workers aren't used to the high temperatures.
Cal/OSHA is urging workers to drink plenty of water, take breaks in a cool area, wear protective clothing and sunscreen, and
make sure you know how to call for medical attention.
For more heat illness resources and tips, visit http://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/heatillnessinfo.html
New Proposal Would Modify Permanent Disability Benefits
This week, the governor proposed draft regulations to modify the 2005 Permanent Disability Rating Schedule
(PDRS), which slashed benefits for disabled workers. The 2005 PDRS caused one-third of injured workers to lose their permanent
disability benefits, and the remaining two-thirds had their benefits cut by over 50 percent. In total, dollars spent on PD
benefits has dropped nearly 70 percent since 2005.
These newly released draft rules would restore a mere 16 percent average increase in benefits. Overall,
average PD ratings will increase two percent, with average awards increasing from $15,180 to $17,595. Although this
is a step in the right direction, this proposal is just a down payment to restore what the most severely disabled workers
deserve.
Public comments on this proposal are due by Friday, May 23rd. To submit a comment, visit www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/DWCWCABForum/PDRS.htm
ETHICS -- HOUSE COMMITTEE REPORT FINDS DEFENSE CONTRACTORS GOUGING U.S. TAXPAYERS: A new
report from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has found that a "Pentagon program for providing workers' compensation
for civilian employees in Iraq and Afghanistan has allowed defense contractors and insurance companies to gouge American taxpayers." The report says that "[i]nsurance companies alone have collected nearly $600 million in excessive profits over the past
five years" because defense contractors are allowed to negotiate their own insurance contracts. Iraq
war profiteer KBR "paid the insurance giant AIG $284 million for medical and disability coverage," but "[b]ecause of the way KBR's contract
is structured, this premium, along with an $8 million markup for KBR, gets billed to taxpayers." Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA)
said, "Out of this amount, just $73 million actually goes to injured contractors, and AIG and KBR pocket over $100 million
as profit." Asked if taxpayers were getting the most for their money, John Needham of the Government Accountability Office
said, "It's not apparent they are."
Senate Republicans Attack Meal Breaks And Overtime Pay
California Senate Republicans have announced their ‘plan’ to stimulate the economy by taking away
the 8-hour workday and the guaranteed lunch break. California workers have diligently fought to win and maintain these essential
workplace rights, but according to Senate Republican Caucus Chair George Runner (R- Antelope Valley), “No one
is more inconvenienced by California’s meal and rest laws than the worker.”
The Republican Caucus is aiming to incorporate these and other non-budget issues into this summer’s
budget negotiations, in an effort close the budget gap on the backs of hard working families who did nothing to bring about
the budget problem in the first place.
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Former NLRB chairman withdraws nomination
By JESSE J. HOLLAND, AP Labor Writer
WASHINGTON
The former chairman of the National Labor
Relations Board has asked President Bush to withdraw his nomination to the
board and has joined a law firm specializing in representing management in labor disputes.
The Senate has not acted on Robert J. Battista's nomination for a new term on the NLRB since the beginning of the year. Battista was the NLRB's chairman from 2002-07.
"It's unfortunate that the country has lost another devoted public servant because the
Senate failed to act on important nominations in a timely manner," said White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore.
Battista on Monday announced he had joined Littler Mendelson, which calls itself the nation's
largest employment and labor law firm representing management.
"Littler has a long-standing tradition of excellence, particularly in the labor relations
arena, and I look forward to working with clients in D.C. and nationally," Battista said in a release.
Democrats, workers' right groups and unions have lambasted Battista's NLRB
leadership. "It's unbelievable that President Bush would renominate Mr. Battista to the Board, after
he led the most anti-worker, anti-labor, anti-union board in its history," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., in January after Battista was renominated.
The Democratic-controlled Senate has not confirmed any of Bush's new nominees to the five-member
NLRB, leaving the board with only two members. The NLRB is charged with conducting
elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices.
May 6, 2008 |
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Airbus workers threaten strike
action
Compiled from Herald News Services
Airbus SAS's French unionized employees threatened further strikes if the planemaker's
parent company presses ahead with plans to sell two factories in France.
Workers at Airbus, the world's largest maker of commercial aircraft, held demonstrations
on April 24 and April 29 to protest the plan to sell the factories. Airbus shelved a parallel project to sell plants in Germany because the buyer withdrew its offer. Airbus
is owned by European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co.
Five unions in France including Force
Ouvriere are demanding that French workers be given equal treatment to German counterparts after Airbus decided to create
a holding company for the three plants in Germany
instead of transferring ownership. Airbus in February 2007 said it would sell plants in France,
Germany and the U.K.
to help spread the risk of investing in new aircraft programs.
"The group representing the unions FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CFDT and CGT will assume its responsibilities
in order to coordinate actions that would result in the mobilization of other sites in France," the five unions said in a
joint statement Monday.
May 6, 2008 |
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Download the Union Label Newsletter, "Label Letter." Information
on union made products including the "Do Buy" list as well as the National Boycott List. Includes an article on the
Boeing Air Force Tanker Deal. Click on the link below.
http://unionlabel.org
Obama Picks Up New Space/Tech Endorsements (Source: WIRED)
The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, an AFL-CIO affiliated
labor union whose membership includes engineers, scientists and technicians at the Department of Defense, the Department of
Energy, NASA and Boeing, has endorsed Barack Obama. The 85,000-member organization, represented by its Executive Council voted
without opposition to endorse the Senator.
In Obama's response to the endorsement he said, "I’ll support vigorous
reinvestment in our federal research and development agencies, including NASA, to maintain America’s leadership in Science and Technology and to foster economic competitiveness." Obama also picked up an endorsement
today from Super Delegate and Congressman David Wu (D-OR). Wu represents the "Silicon Forest" area (which includes the southwest part of Portland) and is the Chair of the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee as well as a member of the Space Subcommittee of the
House of Representative. This puts Obama at 240 Super Delegates and 291 delegates away from capturing the democratic nomination.
Many
people in the space community are still concerned about Obama's statements about delaying NASA's Constellation program five
years (sending humans to the moon), a move that could have serious consequences for the future of human space exploration.
Perhaps getting more people supporting the Obama campaign who support human space exploration will bring in some new thinking
on how the United States can use its human spaceflight program
to support education, the economy, the environment and help foster international cooperation.
How
Clinton, Obama and McCain Could Change U.S.
Space Policy: Geek the Vote Guest Analysis
By Rand Simberg
Popular Mechanics
Published on: April 23, 2008
In her speech last night after claiming enough votes—electronic and otherwise—to win the Pennsylvania primary, Senator
Hillary Clinton said the United States
needed to “end the war on science.” Supporters roared in Philadelphia,
but there’s a quieter battle floating under the political radar as the high-tech 2008 campaign presses on: space policy. With key constituencies in Florida, Texas and the
Southwest, all three presidential contenders have now laid out official platforms on the next giant leap (or step back) for
American space exploration—and none of them bode well for NASA’s existing plans toward the moon and beyond.
The post-Bush breaking point seems simple enough: A new administration
will either support the current direction of NASA or strike out on a new path. But with the space shuttle’s retirement
set to free up funding in two years for the already complex Ares and Orion shots at manned orbit and lunar landing—not to mention the expanding private-space industry and struggling economy—our next decade in space remains decidedly undecided.
What are
the chances that a President McCain, Clinton or Obama will support NASA’s plan as is? Based on an evaluation of campaign talk
thus far, the smart money is on a delay, at best. Here’s a closer look:
John McCain
The Rhetoric “He
is proud to have sponsored legislation authorizing funding consistent with the President’s vision for the space program,
which includes a return of astronauts to the Moon in preparation for a manned mission to Mars. He believes support for a continued
US presence in space is of major importance to America’s future innovation and security. He has also been a staunch advocate
for ensuring that NASA funding is accompanied by proper management and oversight to ensure that the taxpayers receive the
maximum return on their investment.” (johnmccain.com)
The Reality Sounds good, right? Well, there are a couple of things
the senator leaves open-ended. It could very well be that upon gaining office, McCain will determine that taxpayers haven’t
been receiving that “maximum return.” That’s certainly the opinion of many in the space community—that
NASA’s program is too expensive for too little return, with many billions to be spent over the next few years for nothing
more than a repeat of the Apollo program. If so, it could result in a major restructuring of the agency.
What should
be of even more concern for those who favor NASA’s current plans is the senator’s recent pledge to freeze all domestic discretionary spending as part of an effort to reduce
the federal budget deficit. “Every program comes with a built-in assumption that it should go on forever, and its budget
increase forever,” McCain said in a speech about the economy in Pittsburgh
last week. “My administration will change that way of thinking.” Along with that goal comes a one-year, approximately
$460 billion freeze on discretionary agencies and operations—NASA included.
If a potential President McCain
remained true to his budgetary pledge, he would have to offer NASA a waiver, or the agency would need to make a change in
direction. But these two compounding factors—taxpayer satisfaction and domestic cutbacks—make it highly unlikely
that NASA will hit all of its planned targets in a McCain administration.
Hillary Clinton
The Rhetoric “Hillary
is committed to a space exploration program that involves robust human spaceflight to complete the Space Station and later
human missions, expanded robotic spaceflight probes of our solar system leading to future human exploration, and enhanced
space science activities. She will speed development, testing, and deployment of next-generation launch and crew exploration
vehicles to replace the aging Space Shuttle. And in pursuing next-generation programs, Hillary will capitalize on the expertise
of the current Shuttle program workforce and will not allow a repeat of the ‘brain drain’ that occurred between
the Apollo and shuttle missions.” (hillaryclinton.com)
The Reality Robust human spaceflight sounds good, and, indeed,
Clinton has been perhaps the candidate most vocal about manned
missions. Note, however, that there is a certain vagueness in the language above. Clinton’s
policy acknowledges “later human missions” after completion of the International Space Station, but nowhere do
the words “moon” or “Mars” appear. And there is no mention—let alone an endorsement—of
President Bush’s “Vision for Space Exploration.”
Clinton does want to replace the shuttle, but the concern among
some in the space community is that she will do this by continuing Ares 1 and Orion—just not for the moon. This
suggests that NASA would remain the primary carrier of passengers to the ISS for its astronauts, depriving the private space
transportation sector of a potential market. In addition, it’s clear from Clinton’s
other policy statements at the same Web site that she would prefer to reorient the program toward more Earth observation and
aeronautics (not that these areas aren’t worthy of additional funding).
So it’s not at all clear quite
yet whether a second Clinton presidency would bring any lasting
advances in space, or simply maintain the status quo. Unfortunately, the space policies of her husband’s administration
don't exactly provide much encouragement.
Barack Obama
The Rhetoric “The retirement of the Space
Shuttle in 2010 will leave the United States
without manned spaceflight capability until the introduction of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) carried by the Ares
I Launch Vehicle. As president, Obama will support the development of this vital new platform to ensure that the United States’ reliance on foreign space capabilities
is limited to the minimum possible time period. The CEV will be the backbone of future missions, and is being designed with
technology that is already proven and available.” (PDF download via barackobama.com)
The Reality Senator Obama has already declared himself a fan of
space: “I grew up on Star Trek,” Obama said, quite famously, in Wyoming last month. “I believe in the final frontier.” But he has also made it clear
that he does not agree with the way the space program is now being run, saying as recently as last week in Indiana that NASA “needs to be redefined,” with looming decisions between
manned launches and “unmanned probes which are oftentimes cheaper and less dangerous.”
That doesn’t
sound like a candidate who is going to stick with the status quo. But how important does Obama really think that fixing the
program is? Earlier in the campaign, his Web site had no explicit space policy other than a plan to pay for an early education
program with a delay of NASA’s Constellation program (click here to download PDF). It was unclear why he chose that particular pot of money
for such a seemingly unrelated item, or how he would maintain NASA’s team for half a decade when it would presumably
need to continue to bringing home a paycheck.
In January, Obama released the space policy pamphlet excerpt above.
Like Senator Clinton, he claims to support the development of Ares 1 to replace the Shuttle—but also makes no mention
of the moon or Mars, at least in terms of sending humans there. How Obama proposes to square the circle of replacing the shuttle
with a new vehicle whose development he initially planned to delay appears to be officially unexplained. But in that same
Indiana forum last week he called for a national debate
about space if he becomes president. Hey, if we’re going to talk it out, doesn’t it make more sense to lay all
the policies on the table now, when we’re deciding who’s headed to the White House?
The Bottom Line For
voters already behind NASA’s targeted human spaceflight, don’t get your hopes up—none of the three major
candidates are likely to fund the current plan, because they’ll all face the budgetary pressures implied by an aging population and a burgeoning federal deficit.
So
perhaps the real question to ask McCain, Clinton and Obama is not what they’re going to do for NASA, but whether they’re
going to come up with a more innovative federal space policy overall. Could America’s
future in space extend beyond simply giving NASA money to build its own rockets and send a few astronauts to the moon at billions
of dollars per flight? Instead, could we encourage private enterprise to come up with solutions that enable far more pioneers
to reach orbit? Does the next president have any interest in a space program for the rest of us—one that’s affordable
and sustainable? While Clinton and Obama battle it out, the candidates still have plenty of time to tell us.
PopularMechanics.com
contributing columnist Rand Simberg is a self-described "recovering aerospace engineer" and the brains behind space blog Transterrestrial Musings.
Support for Extended Unemployment Insurance Benefits Growing Over the last six months, more than 200,000 California families reached the end
of their six months of unemployment benefits. Another quarter million California families are expected to run out of benefits
in the next six months. The past two weeks have brought new support for extending unemployment benefits. Last
week, Assemblymember Sandré Swanson (D-Oakland) introduced a resolution in the state legislature calling on Congress to extend
benefits. On Monday, Governor Schwarzenegger sent a letter to Congressional leaders asking for action and just this morning,
the Los Angeles Times published a supportive editorial.
Read the LA Times editorial at http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-employment25apr25,0,6055990.story
The governor’s letter can be found at http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/9380/
Tax Day gifts for the rich
by Holly Sklar
When it comes to cutting taxes for the wealthy, President Bush can truly say, "Mission
accomplished."
The richest 1 percent of Americans received about $491 billion in tax breaks between 2001 and 2008. That's nearly
the same amount as U.S. debt held by China -- $493 billion -- in the form of Treasury securities.
Do you want our government to mortgage more of our nation's future to finance tax breaks for the rich?
Tax cuts have already helped the richest 1 percent -- whose annual incomes average about $1.5 million -- increase
their share of the nation's income to a higher level than any year since 1928 on the eve of the Great Depression.
Wall Street's five biggest firms paid "a record $39 billion in bonuses for 2007, a year when three of the companies
suffered the worst quarterly losses in their history" and are eliminating thousands of jobs as losses mount from the subprime
mortgage market collapse, reports Bloomberg.
The International Monetary Fund says the United States
is in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Yet, we are borrowing money with interest to finance tax cuts
for Wall Street executives.
For Americans below the top 1 percent, the tax cuts have been a giant swindle. The bottom 99 percent of taxpayers
were left with a bill of $3.74 in debt for every $1 in federal tax cuts from 2001 to 2006, reports Citizens for Tax Justice.
Only the top 1 percent came out ahead.
Meanwhile, the federal budgets for environmental protection and housing for the elderly have been slashed more than
20 percent since 2001, adjusted for inflation, the Community Development Block Grant budget is down 32 percent, and the lack
of health insurance is an epidemic.
Most households aren't even earning as much as they did in 1999, adjusting for inflation. But the 400 taxpayers with
the highest incomes doubled their incomes between 2002 and 2005.
According to the latest IRS data, which excludes tax-exempt interest income from state and local government bonds,
the richest 400 taxpayers reported an average $214 million each on their federal income tax returns in 2005 -- up from $104
million in 2002.
As the Wall Street Journal observed, "It's also important to remember that these figures don't represent wealth or
even lifetime earnings -- merely income for a single year."
Thanks to tax cuts, it's now common for the nation's richest bosses to pay taxes at a lower rate than workers. The
400 richest taxpayers paid only 18 percent of their income in federal individual income taxes in 2005 --- down from 30 percent
in 1995.
"The drop in effective tax rates for the top 400 filers," the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports, "worked
out to a tax reduction of $25 million per filer in 2005." It would take 673 average workers earning $37,149 a year to reach
$25 million today.
While tax cuts help the superrich compete over who has the biggest submarine-carrying superyacht, Katrina survivors
are being hit with foreclosures, and neglected levees and bridges around the country are a disaster waiting to happen.
Most of the provisions of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. President Bush wants
to make them permanent.
The richest 1 percent of households would receive nearly $1.2 trillion in tax cuts from 2009 through 2018, reports
the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
How much is $1.2 trillion? More than all the debt accumulated in the nearly 200 years from George Washington through
Ronald Reagan's first two years in office. That's before adding interest payments on the borrowed $1.2 trillion.
Tax cuts for the wealthy fuel rising inequality along with rising debt and neglect. Taxpayers with annual incomes
above $1 million in fiscal year 2012, for example, would increase their after-tax income by 7.5 percent thanks to an average
tax cut of $162,000. The poorest 20 percent of taxpayers would get an average tax cut of $45 -- and decaying public services.
Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama promise to end the tax breaks for the wealthy.
Republican candidate John McCain wants to extend them. What do you want?
Holly Sklar is co-author of "Raise the Floor: Wages and Policies That Work for All of Us" and "A Just Minimum Wage:
Good for Workers, Business and Our Future."
Copyright (c) 2008 Holly Sklar
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2008 Executive PayWatch
The chief executive of a Standard & Poor's 500 company made,
on average, $14.2 million in total compensation in 2007, according to preliminary data from The Corporate Library. Problems
with executive compensation came to a head in 2007 with large severance packages given to CEOs of companies at the center
of the mortgage crisis. The International Monetary Fund estimates that the financial turmoil set off by the collapse of the
mortgage market could total nearly $1 trillion. Yet, chief executive officers of the firms most responsible for causing the
crisis collected hundreds of millions of dollars in pay last year. This highlights the need for further reform to protect
companies and their investors.
California Labor Federation Endorses Candidates For June
2008 Primary
This week, more than 400 union delegates from across the state came together
to vote on labor's official endorsements for state legislators, U.S. representatives, and statewide ballot measures for the upcoming primary election on June 3rd.
The convention provided union members with the opportunity to weigh in on
this year's important political races. All union members and allies are encouraged to consider these endorsements before heading
to the polls in June.
The full list of endorsements can be found at http://www.calaborfed.org/political/june_08.html
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SPEEA Says Latest 787 Slide Shows Failure of Boeing's Global Supply Plan |
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As The Boeing Company
today issued another six-month delay for the 787 Dreamliner, the union representing engineers and technical workers called
on the aerospace giant's Chicago-based leaders to correct what the union says is a flawed reliance on global partners and
bring the work back while the company still has the in-house experience to do it right.
Relying on a network that
brings wings from Japan, fuselage sections from Italy, rudders from China and thousands of other parts from around the globe
is a failure, according to the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001.
"Boeing outsourced everything
it could to lower costs and it's hurting this program and the company," said Ray Goforth, executive director of SPEEA. "Employees
are performing heroic efforts to get the 787 back on track and they are getting no help from corporate leaders in Chicago
who consistently ignored the truth coming from employees in engineering offices and factory floor."
The technical workers'
union predicted the failure in 2002 in a report prepared by SPEEA Researcher Stan Sorscher, Ph.D. The 12-page document "Challenge
in Aerospace Leadership" describes how Boeing's emphasis on "large-scale systems integration" would fail because it put more
value on snapping a plane together than on the expertise needed to design, engineer and manufacture a highly complex aircraft.
Visit the SPEEA website atwww.speea.org to download the report.
According to the union,
while the 787 is the latest and most prominent failure of the Boeing business model, it is not the first. The 767 tanker,
Joint Strike Fighter, Future Combat Systems and the Wedgetail were all heavily outsourced programs that are now major disappointments
for Boeing.
"We have to go back to
the 777 to find a program that met or exceeded customers' expectations," Sorscher said. "The challenge going forward is formidable
for Boeing. In the next 10 years a large number of engineers and technical workers will be eligible to retire."
Now more than 18 months
behind schedule, Boeing must rely on its own experienced workforce to rescue the 787. That's a workforce that is fast approaching
retirement. The average age of a Boeing engineer is now 46 and technical workers average age is 49 years. Bringing the work
back today taps into that experience and will serve as a training ground for the next generation of aerospace workers.
"The time to pull this
work back is today," said Goforth. "Sending engineers around the world to help suppliers simply transfers all the aerospace
knowledge to other companies in other countries. Today, Boeing still has that knowledge. But if the company doesn't correct
the error of their business model, the core knowledge will soon be gone and we won't be able to get it back."
In October, SPEEA begins
main table negotiations with Boeing for 21,000 employees in Washington, Kansas,
Oregon, Utah and California.
Negotiations begin in May for 3,000 represented employees at Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. in Wichita,
Kansas.
A local of the International
Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), SPEEA represents more than 24,000 aerospace professionals at Boeing,
Spirit, Triumph Composite Systems, Inc., in Spokane, Wash.,
and at BAE Systems, Inc., in Irving, Texas.
CONTACT: SPEEA Ray Goforth, Executive Director, 206-433-0991 or Stan Sorscher, Ph.D., Researcher
- Labor Representative 206-433-0991 or Bill Dugovich, Communications Director 206-433-0991 or 206-683-9857 (cell)
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April
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Contract Negotiations 2007
Special note: The companies
negotiations website provides an email address where questions and comments can be made. Be aware that none of the questions
or comments are shared with the UAW. This is information only seen by the company.
United Technologies / Pratt & Whitney Job Search
How To Manage Your Debt
ABOUT TO BE LAYED-OFF
If you are facing layoff or know of any Local 887 members who are currently on lay off and are considering retraining,
help is available. Local 887 has partnered with UAW-LETC. There are several training grants available
for those who are considering retraining or upgrade training.
NTMA training is available for laid off aerospace machinist. In addition there is training available for electricians,
mechanics and others who are considering transitioning their skills into the construction trades. In some cases training
may not be required to move into good paying union jobs. For more information you may contact the following:
In-plant representative
UAW Local 887
or you may contact Mareta Papu-Zuniga 323.730.7900 for more information. Be sure to indicate that you are a Local
887 member.
American workers need help - and there's something you can do about it.
Regardless of where you live or what you do, labor unions are our first line of defense for worker's rights. What do they
fight for? Raising the minimum wage. Improving labor standards. Expanding health care benefits. Protecting retirement security.
And these fights don't only make a difference in the workplace: They are critical to providing economic security for families,
strengthening our communities and rebuilding America's middle class. Every day, millions of Americans work hard and
play by the rules but are still struggling to get by. Democrats understand the important role that labor unions play
to fix this crisis.
Congress is set to debate a bill that will restore American workers' right to freely choose whether or not to form a union.
Call on the White House to join the Democratic majority and support the Employee Free Choice Act:
Research shows union members earn 30% more than nonunion workers. What's more, union workers are 63% more likely to have
employer-provided health insurance, and are four times more likely to have a guaranteed pension.
The benefits of union membership are clear. That's why nearly half of American workers who are not currently represented
by unions -- 60 million people -- say that they'd join one if they had the chance. But every year since 1981, union
membership has declined. And a major reason for that fall-off is the many obstacles workers face when they try to form
a union or negotiate a union contract.
The Employee Free Choice Act is a simple, effective solution to restore the right of workers to form unions and bargain
for better wages and benefits for themselves and their families. It has three key provisions:
- Require employers to recognize a union if a majority of workers sign authorization cards saying they want union representation.
- Provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes.
- Strengthen penalties for companies that illegally intimidate employees to prevent them from forming a union.
No management coercion, no waiting period, no stacked deck -- just the freedom for workers to stand up for their rights.
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate overwhelmingly support the Employee Free Choice Act, but they may not be enough
to pass the bill into law. On February 14, Vice President Cheney told a meeting of the National Association of Manufacturers
that Bush would use his second-ever veto if the Employee Free Choice Act made it to his desk.
The fact is, George Bush and Dick Cheney don't care what's best for the American people - only what's best for themselves
and their corporate cronies. We saw it with the veto of stem cell legislation. We see it now with the escalation in
Iraq. Don't let it happen again with the Employee Free Choice Act:
Big business is scared of the Employee Free Choice Act -- and that's why they're doing everything in their power to stop
it.
75% of companies hire consultants or union-busters to fight organizing campaigns. And their tactics work: every 23
minutes, a worker is fired or discriminated against for supporting a union. All in all, over 22,000 workers each year
are illegally fired, demoted, laid off, suspended without pay, or denied work by their employers as a result of union activity.
Why have our leaders in Washington allowed this to happen? Follow the money trail.
The public opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act is funded in large part by GOP-allied corporate lobbyists and interest
groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Conservative Union, and Americans for Tax Reform. The dozens
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