8  Job Bidding

(a) Active employees will be permitted to bid, at the division at which they are working for up to three (3) jobs for which they are qualified.   Employees on layoff with recall rights will be permitted to bid for up to thee (3) jobs for which they are qualified at each division.  Employees may change their bid for up to three (3) jobs at any time.  New bids will replace previous bids.  If an active employee successfully bids for a job in a lower labor grade, the provisions of Section 10(g)(2) hereof shall apply.  (Exception:  If the employee is excess in his classification and successfully bids for a job in a lower labor grade.)

(b)  The employee will complete the bid form including the specific job classifications desired.  He will also indicate the shifts, departments and the locations at his own division, which are not acceptable, if any.  For active employees, the Supervisor will assist the employee to insure the bid form is properly completed and legible.  The employee will submit the bid to his Supervisor.  The Supervisor will sign and date the bid and return a copy to the employee.  The original will be forwarded to the Transfer Section for processing.  Employees, who are not at work, including employees on layoff with recall rights, may submit their bids either directly or through the Union to the transfer Section.  The Transfer Section will sign and date the bid and return a copy to the employee.

(c) Job bids will be effective ten (10) working days after receipt by the Transfer Section, except when another employee/applicant has an established transfer/start date.

(d) The company at each division will fill job vacancies by bidders who meet the qualifying requirements for the job in seniority order as openings occur in accordance with the following priorities:

First Priority-Active employees within the division, including employees on layoff with recall rights whose home division is such division.

Second Priority-Employees on layoff with recall rights whose home division is another division.

Third Priority-employees on layoff with recall rights from Local 1519.

(e) An employee must accept the first vacancy for a job for which he has bid and which meets his specifications as to shift, department and location.  If more than one classification for which the employee has bid becomes available to him at the same time, he will select the classification he will accept.  When an employee is placed in a classification as a result of a bid, all of his remaining active bids will immediately become void and he will be ineligible to bid unless he is downgraded or laid off, in which case he will immediately become eligible to bid.  If an employee after he has bid receives a job with the same or a higher maximum rate than that of a job for which he bid, his bids will be canceled.  If an employee who has bid is placed on layoff his bids will remain active.  When an employee is reinstated from layoff at a division other than his home division or suspends his recall rights, all of his currently active bids become void.  If an employee who has bid goes on formal leave of absence, his bids will be suspended while he is on leave, but will be reactivated for future openings when he returns to work. An employee may not bid until he has six (6) months seniority. 

(f) If a vacancy occurs in an unpopulated job, the company, at the division where the vacancy exists, will post such vacancy for five (5) working days at the regular posting locations throughout the division.  During the five (5) working days that the jobs are posted employees within the division, and employees on layoff with recall rights, may submit/change their bid for up to three (3) jobs, as provided above.  The Company will fill the vacancy in accordance with the priorities set forth in Section 8(d) hereof.

(g) As employees who are determined not to be qualified are passed over, they will be notified of the reason why they are not promoted or transferred.  Problems raised protesting failure of the Company to promote or transfer an employee in accordance with this procedure will be processed in accordance with the provisions of Article V.

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October 14, 2010

During today’s negotiations your negotiating committee countered The Boeing Company’s 2^nd offer.  This evening the company presented their Best and Final Offer. 

On Saturday October 16, and Sunday October 17, information meetings will be held to inform the membership of the details of this Final Offer. 

YOUR ECONOMIC FUTURE IS ON THE LINE!

It is very important for you to attend this meeting so that you are informed and may vote for your best interest.

Bargaining Unit Members your Bargaining Committee strongly encourages you to attend your meeting of choice. 

Be Aware:  The Boeing Companies negotiations website listed as "UAW 887 Negotiations" 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.

If you have questions or comments for the UAW Local 887 negotiations team send them to:

Beginning on October 11, 2010, UAW Local 887 and the Boeing Company will enter into the economic phase of contract negotiations.  It is in this phase that we will be negotiating wage, pension and healthcare benefits. 

During our most recent discussions during the non-economic phase of negotiations a few items were not resolved and will be carried over into the economic phase. 

The following will be a part of the next round of negotiations:

ü      In order to stay competitive the company wants to subcontract the Facilities and Maintenance work. 

One of several questions they will need to answer is:  With the employee involvement culture, how much information has the company shared with our facilities and maintenance teams in order for them to improve processes and reduce costs?  Has any budget and cost information been shared?  If not how can cases be made by the teams.  The company itself doesn’t know the potential for in house cost savings without data and examination.  The company makes the assumption without information that the cost is automatically less when they subcontract.  They haven’t learned the lessons we read about in the news about the 787 program about subcontracting or outsourcing work.

ü      Department transfers without regard for seniority.

We believe that senior employees should have the first opportunity to volunteer for a department transfer. 

ü      Job combinations.

The company believes that combining some jobs will provide better flexibility.  These combinations have got to make sense and the long term impact needs to be examined.  In addition the company if it expects any kind of agreement, needs to insure that those who may be involved in a job combination must have proper training beyond an overview and proper management of this resource.  In the past we have seen little or no training and people pigeon holed never given the chance to increase their skills.  The company then ends up in situations where they don’t have properly trained or certified people to do the job and then wants relief from the situation they have created.

ü      Travel work at Palmdale to attract new work. 

This local union has worked with and has provided flexibility for Boeing to bring in new work.  Attracting work to our facilities has been the overarching goal of Local 887 throughout these negotiations and will continue to be our goal.  It should be clear that this work (if not all the work then the majority) is for our membership first. 

If these issues of managing costs and flexibility are important to the company, they are even more so to the membership of Local 887.  We long ago agreed to become a team based work force for the express purpose of managing and reducing costs, to improve quality, to maintain the current business and to attract new opportunities.  The members of Local 887 are highly capable and have proven time and again that they can and do make improvements when they are allowed to do so, when information is shared by the company so team members can make proper decisions on how to best improve and meet company goals.   It is only because lack of communication and the sharing of information that we come up short.