October 7, 2005

October 7, 2005 / No. 1990
Representing aerospace professionals with competence, integrity and action
Auburn Rally – see more on rallies, page 4
Negotiations 2005
Compensation
and the market
continued on page 8
R
etirement benefits continue to draw
attention from represented employees keeping up on negotiation issues.
Improving retirement
benefits is a top issue
for these negotiations.
Informational meetings
Among the options
Lunchtime meetings are drawresearched by SPEEA
ing crowds throughout Puget
to prepare for conSound. Check out the schedule
tract negotiations with
of meetings at www.speea.org
The Boeing Company
or talk to your Council Rep.
was switching from
Wichita
the Boeing Company
The Wichita Engineering Unit
Employee Retirement
(WEU) Negotiations Team held
Plan (BCERP) to the
two after-hours meetings at the
Pension Value Plan
SPEEA Hall on Oct. 3 and 5,
(PVP). Continued
and lunchtime meetings will be
research and evaluation
held upon request. Talk to your
of the real-life situations
Council Rep or call the SPEEA
of represented employWichita office.
ees resulted in the teams
dropping the proposal
Fore more details
to switch plans.
Have you checked out SPEEA’s
“The teams agree there
contract proposal for the Prof,
are too many issues,”
Tech and Wichita Engineering
said Sharon Moats,
Unit? Go to www.speea.org
Tech Team chair. “We
for a summary of the proposare looking for improveal. Highlights are also in the
ments in retirement and
October issue of Spotlite.
in the BCERP plan.”
What do you think?
The evaluation of the
Have a comment or question about
PVP and BCERP was
the proposal or process? Send euseful and provided a
mail to [email protected].
By Kurt Hanson
SPEEA Staff Focal for Negotiations
The SPEEA contract
proposal calls for “compensation commensurate with Boeing’s premier market position.”
Based on a comparison
with the Boeing salary
reference tables, the salaries of SPEEA-represented employees are slightly
below the market. The
teams believe Boeing’s
premier position within
its market means that
the salaries of its employees should be above the
market, not below.
Given the strong labor
market for engineers and
technical employees, the
SPEEA Negotiations
teams expect salary
increase pools for engineers and technical
employees to exceed the
national average.
Not only is this fair to
the employees who put
Boeing in its premier
Teams researched switch from
BCERP to PVP
Negotiations lunchtime rallies . . . P4
Gas tax debate . . . P5
much better picture of what it will take to
improve retirement benefits for represented
employees.
More than 4,000 SPEEA-represented employees are covered by PVP, often
looked at as the “non-represented” employee plan. The remaining SPEEA-represented
employees are in BCERP, or the “unionrepresented” plan. PVP and BCERP are
defined benefit plans, although each has
unique features that must be weighed.
Initial investigations for the 2005 negotiations suggested that switching to PVP may
improve benefits for SPEEA-represented
employees overall. While some employees
fair slightly better, some fared worse.
SPEEA retirement
proposals
Negotiation teams included a switch from
BCERP to PVP to ensure the issue of pensions is thoroughly reviewed. From the
start, the teams agreed that a switch must
benefit represented employees. SPEEArepresented employees view retirement as
a “lifeboat” issue. Retirement and pensions were a top issue leading to the
International Association of Machinists
(IAM) walkout. If PVP is not better than
BCERP, the team members agreed not to
pursue a switch.
continued on page 3
Interim NW
VP election . . . P6
Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 2001, AFL-CIO, CLC • www.speea.org
2 • SPEEA NEWS / October 7, 2005 / No. 1990
BY CHARLES BOFFERDING
Notes from the Executive Director
Relationships matter
President
W
Charles Bofferding
ithin a month, we will be sitting at Main Table negotiations
with Boeing management to
hammer out contracts for Puget Sound
engineers and technical employees and
Wichita engineers.
As Main Table negotiations approach,
we get to frame the interaction between
labor and management as either a fight
for power and money or as a joint designbuild effort to help make Boeing the best
company possible. In 2000, we proved
that, if forced, we are good fighters.
However, everyday, as we help design and
build world-leading
products and processes, we prove we
are the best problem
solvers in the world.
It is clear to me where
the chance for maximum returns for our
membership lies.
ment should be doing everything possible to send messages of mutual respect,
appreciation and commitment to Boeing’s
future (where “Boeing’s future” includes
the employees’ future as well).
Relationships frame
our interaction
Our top negotiation issues are healthcare, salary, retirement and job security.
However all discussions about our top
issues take place within the framework
of our relationship. As presented at our
top-level negotiation kick-off meeting
with Alan Mulally’s
leadership team, our
n e g o t i a t i o n’s re a l
question is: Does
Boeing management
appreciate and respect
B o e i n g’s t e c h n i c a l
community and accept
SPEEA as a partner
in moving the company forward?
Negotiations
present both
parties the
opportunity
to publicly
demonstrate
our principles.
Management should
welcome the opportunity to negotiate.
Negotiations present both parties the
opportunity to publicly demonstrate our
principles. SPEEA’s
principles are simple: We believe in collective bargaining,
we believe collaboration works, and we
believe employees need a strong advocate
to engage management to craft a contract
that works for all stakeholders. In our
negotiations, management will send messages to Boeing’s technical community.
Management should welcome the chance
to send a strong and positive message at a
critical time in our history.
Given the 787, MMA, FCS, among a
whole host of other developing programs
and Boeing’s declared strategy of shifting
to a large-scale system integrator, everyone
should appreciate how important Boeing’s
technical community is to Boeing’s longterm success. Now is the time for management and Boeing’s technical community
to come to terms that work for the long
run. Both SPEEA and Boeing manage-
A key component
of this answer is
management’s relationship with both
SPEEA as individual
employees and as an
organization as manifest in employment security and neutrality. If we’re going to work together
– then let’s do it. Let’s each acknowledge
the legitimate goals and concerns of the
others.
We understand management wants
Boeing to provide shareholder returns and
grow the business. Management should
understand that employees want Boeing
to provide stable employment with good
wages, benefits and retirement, and that
SPEEA wants to grow representation. We
shouldn’t fight each other on our core
issues. We should find ways to help each
other achieve our goals in ways that move
us all forward.
If we are to achieve our goals, we must be
mindful that relationships matter.
Jennifer D. MacKay
Executive Director
Executive Board
Tom McCarty
David Patzwald
Larry Marrell
Cynthia Cole
Vacant
Bill Hartig
Treasurer
Secretary
NW Regional VP
NW Regional VP
NW Regional VP
MW Regional VP
SPEEA Council Officers
Jimmie Mathis
Judi Hurd
Mark Schuetz
Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
Midwest Regional Council Officers
Debbie Logsdon
Lloyd Bonham
Rhonda Greer
Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
Northwest Regional Council Officers
Bob Wilkerson
Paul Wojciechowski
Joel Funfar
Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
SPEEA Publications
Bill Dugovich
Lori Dupuis
Rich Kremnetz
Karen McLean
Communications Director
Graphic Designer
Printing/Mail Manager
Publications Editor
[email protected]
www.speea.org
SEATTLE HALL
15205 52nd Ave S • Seattle, WA 98188
M-Th, 8 am to 6 pm • Fri, 8 am to 4:30 pm
Phone: (206) 433-0991
EVERETT HALL
2414 106th St. SW
Everett, WA 98204
M-F, 8 am to 4:30 pm
Phone: (425) 355-2883
WICHITA HALL
973 S Glendale St • Wichita, KS 67218
M-F, 8:30 am to 5 pm
Phone: (316) 682-0262
SPEEA NEWS / October 7, 2005 / No. 1990
•3
Teams researched switch from BCERP to PVP
continued from page 1
History
During the 1999 negotiations,
Boeing proposed a switch to
PVP as part of the company’s
ill-fated “Total Compensation”
benefits package. At the time,
“cash-balance plans” were
receiving considerable media
attention for their negative
effects on older retirees. While
PVP is a cash-balance hybrid,
the particular design of PVP
does not include the negative
features that drew the criticism
at other companies.
In 2002, we had limited discussions with Boeing management
about PVP. Later that year,
management offered PVP to
the IAM. When SPEEA started
negotiations, we opened the
subject again. Ultimately, neither the IAM nor SPEEA teams
had enough time to properly
consider a switch and its impact
on represented employees.
Retirement Benefit Calculation Comparison
Pension
Value Plan
BCERP
Benefit Credits
+ Interest Credits
Heritage Benefit
(Indexed)
Minimum Benefit
$60/month
No Early
Reduction
2% per Year
Reduction
pre-60
4%per Year
Reduction
pre-65
Consider the
proposal
Since the initial proposal, members dug
into the PVP and BCERP plans. Among
the concerns raised about PVP are:
• While we understand BCERP, the PVP
design is opaque. How can we switch
plans when we can’t predict future
interest rates, salary growth or know
what age we will retire from Boeing?
• PVP’s “minimum benefit” has a steep
reduction for early retirement. That
negative feature is visible above all
other parts of the plan design.
• PVP performs worse than BCERP for
Excess
5% per Year
Reduction
pre-60
Core
2% per Year
Reduction
pre-60
2% per Year
Reduction
pre-60
ADD
ADD
Credit-Based
Benefit
Standard Benefit
$60/month
Alternate Benefit
(FAE)
$
$
Alternate
Benefit
$
$
Compare
Compare
Highest
$
Highest
$
Retirement
Benefit
Retirement
Benefit
employees with high-salary growth.
• There is no disability retirement benefit in PVP.
Benefits of PVP include:
• Initial examinations indicate PVP provides slightly improved benefits overall.
However, mixed results were obtained
when members started plugging in
real-life situations.
• Adding PVP to our contracts would
allow SPEEA to negotiate its terms.
• If a represented employee quits, is
laid off, or their organization is sold
or divested, PVP continues to accrue
interest payments. In BCERP, the terms
of an employee’s pension are frozen
when they exit the bargaining unit.
Next steps
Negotiation teams are using the data provided by members to determine the retirement improvements needed by represented
employees. SPEEA teams are focusing on
a solution that creates the best possible
pension that works for both sides and is
based on facts, data and respects the values
expressed by SPEEA members.
IAM holds the line and wins
R
eturning IAM members received
heartfelt thanks from SPEEA
represented employees when
they returned to work after ratifying a
new contract Sept. 29.
The 28-day strike succeeded in holding
the line on healthcare costs and increasing pensions. How the strike will effect
SPEEA negotiations remains to be seen.
“The IAM set the bar high,” said Alton
Folks, Auburn Council Rep. “We’re
looking forward to a similar positive
outcome.”
SPEEA donated $5,000 to the IAM strike
fund and continued to show support at
work, on the picket line and by displaying “I support IAM 751” buttons and
window signs. Where possible, lunchtime
rallies to support SPEEA negotiations
were moved outside Boeing gates to IAM
picket lines to allow their members to
participate.
The positive outcome will affect the benefits, pensions and wage packages of other
employees at The Boeing Company
receive, said Charles Bofferding,
SPEEA executive director.
“All Boeing employees should be grateful to the IAM for better benefits,”
Bofferding said. “Those sacrifices by
the IAM have been sacrifices for everyone.”
The strike involved IAM members in
Washington, Oregon and Kansas. Eighty
percent of the voting members voted to
approve the new three-year contract.
4 • SPEEA NEWS / October 7, 2005 / No. 1990
Members turn out to support negotiations
at lunchtime rallies CAS
Developmental Center
L
unchtime rallies to support upcoming contract negotiations attracted more than 3,000
SPEEA-represented employees in recent
weeks.
Serving the dual purposes of supporting striking
IAM members and allowing SPEEA members to
talk with members of our negotiation teams, the
events attracted from 150 to more than 600 members in Everett and Renton.
“We all want good negotiations,” said John
Kampsen, Auburn Council Rep. “Hopefully, the
company learned by those negotiations.”
As the IAM strike ended, Negotiations team members addressed many questions about the similarity
of IAM issues to SPEEA issues. With the addition
of needing wage increases for SPEEA-represented
employees, the SPEEA negotiations teams expect
health care, pensions and employment security
to be key issues when Main Table talks start in
November.
“Our members are just as determined to get what is
right,” said Tom McCarty, Prof Unit negotiations
team chair at the Auburn rally Sept. 27. “Our salaries and wage pools should reflect the position The
Boeing Company wants in the market – leading.”
Organized by Council Reps at each site, the
events allowed members to hear from their negotiation teams while enjoying lunch or snacks provided by SPEEA. Rallies were held in Everett,
Renton, SeaTac, Auburn, Kent, CAS and the
Developmental Center.
“We’ve all seen what the IAM got in their contract,” said Prof Team member Cynthia Cole,
at the rally in Auburn. “But we still have to
negotiate our contracts. This is not going to be
a cakewalk.”
Attendees at the rallies were the first to receive
specially designed “SPEEA bargains for me”
badge holders. Buttons, desk tents and other visibility items were also available.
Executive Board and Council officers took
time out of their training session on Sept. 27 to
attend the rally in Auburn.
“We really appreciate the members coming out and
showing support,” said
Sharon Moats, Tech
Unit negotiation team
chair. “People asked
good questions and
showed they are watching closely.”
Lunchtime meetings
continue around the
workplace. Talk to
your Council Rep or
visit the SPEEA website for the schedule.
Renton
Everett
Auburn
Kent
SPEEA NEWS / October 7, 2005 / No. 1990
•5
Members hear sides of gasoline tax debate
By Bill Dugovich
Communications Director
W
ashington State’s Initiative 912
to roll back the gas tax drew
experts and members to the
SPEEA Tukwila Hall Sept. 29 to hear both
sides of the issue.
On the ballot Nov. 8, the initiative would
eliminate the 9.5 cent gasoline tax that the
state legislators approved earlier in the year to
generate some $8.5 billion for road projects
around the state. The tax is scheduled to
phase in with increases of 3 cents in 2005 and
2006, 2 cents in 2007, and 1.5 cents in 2008.
Backers of the initiative gathered 420,000 signatures in 22 days to get the measure on the
general election ballot, according to Aaron
Schwitters, I-912 campaign coordinator.
“We feel strongly that the transportation
priorities of Washington state, the governor
and the legislature are on the wrong track,”
Schwitters said. “This initiative is a perfect
way for voters to send a message to Olympia
that we want government to focus transportation money on relieving congestion.”
Opponents of the initiative said relieving traffic congestion is why the gas tax is
needed.
“Virtually every project proposed will
relieve some level of traffic congestion,” said
Dave Johnson, executive director of the
Washington Trades Council. “The gas tax has
to be dedicated to highway improvements.”
The tax generates revenue that is necessary
to secure federal matching dollars for many
of the projects. Johnson said that without
the revenue stream created by the gasoline
tax, the federal dollars will not be available
for Washington.
Schwitters said residents in Washington pay
more than the national average in gasoline
tax and get sub-par results. He said allowing
the legislature to implement a tax, after voters
rejected a transportation initiative two years
ago, is stripping rights away from tax payers.
“We pay the fourth highest gas tax in the
nation and yet we have all these problems,”
Schwitters said. “I just don’t buy 28 cents a
gallon.”
The state Department of Transportation
lists 349 transportation projects on their
list for funding. Of those, 39 are presently
being worked.
“At what point do we look at our state and
say we have an emergency?” Johnson asked
the group. “There is a real sense we have
an emergency right now, particularly in the
area of public safety.”
The SPEEA program on the gasoline tax is
part of the ongoing effort to help members stay
informed about key issues that affect them.
Carl Kassebawn, left, and Bob Abbott, center, describe the need for additional 9.5-cent gasoline tax in
Washington state. At right, Aaron Schwitters, advocates passage of Initiative 912 to repeal the tax.
Washington State Initiative 912
T
he initiative repeals the 9.5 cent gas
tax authorized by the Washington
state legislature earlier this year. The
tax is scheduled to phase in during the next
four years. The increase is on top of a 5cent increase adopted in 2003, which raised
Washington’s gas tax to 28 cents.
Major projects that would be impacted
by repeal include:
• Alaskan Way Viaduct – replacement
• 520 floating bridge – expansion
• I-5, I-405, SR-167, US-395, I-205, I90 – improvements
Complete list of projects: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/
Washington State transportation funding package
Allocation of the $.095 gasoline tax, fees and charges
Project
$ Millions
Roadway Safety
Preservation
Ferries
Multi-Modal Improvements
Environmental
Freight Mobility & Economics
Choke Points & Congestion
Total
$3,257.3
$0.5
$185.4
$94.8
$108.2
$541.1
$2,952.0
$7,139.4
Allocations in selected counties
$ Millions
King
Pierce
Snohomish
Spokane
$4,058
$767.5
$472.3
$201.4
History of Washington gas tax
Year
Gas Tax – cents
per gallon
2005 Dollars
Retail price per
gallon
% of retail price
of gas
1949
6.5
43.7
$.027
24%
1961
7.5
38.7
$.31
24.4%
1981
1991
2005
13.5
23
31
25.1
29.9
31
$1.38
$1.14
$2.89
9.8%
20.2%
10.7%
6 • SPEEA NEWS / October 7, 2005 / No. 1990
Jobs with Justice
annual dinner/
silent auction
Congratulations to Labor
Day picnic raffle winners
Richard Greene (shown here at the
NW Council meeting with his prize) is
one of the winners of the King County
Labor Council Labor Day raffle. He won
one of the top prizes – a portable DVD
player. Other SPEEA winners include:
Charles Bofferding, Jessica Bonebright,
Randy Grove, Keith Neal, Tang Nguye,
Pat Rinnert, Paul Shearon and John
Stefansson. SPEEA sold about $350 raffle
tickets to help raise money for the Puget
Sound Labor Agency. The agency operates
a food bank and other services from the
Seattle Labor Temple. The agency also operates out of the Snohomish County Labor
Temple. The Labor Agency administers the
SPEEA Cares fund along with other labor
unions’ Care funds and Operation Shortfall
– helping families in need. This allows contributions to be tax deductible.
S
EATTLE – The Washington State
Jobs with Justice (JwJ) will hold its
fifth annual dinner from 6:30 to
10 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 29, at the SeaTac Doubletree Hotel. This year’s dinner
will honor local activists as well as raise
money through a silent auction for JwJ
coalition work.
This year’s honorees include the
Washington State legislature’s labor caucus,
for their leadership efforts in the session,
as well as their efforts to support JwJ by
serving on the Workers’ Rights Board and
Steering Committee.
Federal workers and their unions,
American Federation of Government
Employees (AFGE) and Bremerton Metal
Trades Council, will be honored for their
fight against the union-busting National
Security Personnel System (NSPS).
Case Study
The case of the
disappearing
zip code
A
SPEEA member recently
found out that he lost his
insurance because he was outside the coverage area. However, he had
not recently moved. Concerned by the
lack of information at Total Access, he
made a call to his local SPEEA Hall, to a
contract administrator (CA).
The CA made a call and found out this
problem occurred when the U.S. Postal
Service created a new zip code for the
member’s address. Because zip codes designate plan eligibility, insurance carriers
or Total Access could see the new zip code
as a new address that was not eligible.
The CA contacted a helpful health insurance customer service representative at
Boeing, who was already familiar with
the case, having helped another SPEEA
member in July.
This was a case of making sure the right
people had the right information. When
the same problem came up again for the
member – because of dental insurance, the
Boeing service representative again responded in a timely manner. [Mark Moshay]
SPEEA – making sure the right
things happen for members
Interim Northwest V.P.
election set for rerun
By Bob Wilkerson
Northwest Council Chair
T
he election to seat
an interim vice
president for the
Northwest Region, filling
the unexpired term of Dave
Landress, is now set to re-run during a special Northwest Council session on Oct. 13.
Northwest Tellers recently made this ruling,
acting on an election challenge. Please let me
explain the background and the next steps.
In July, the Northwest Council was scheduled to elect an interim vice president due to
Landress’ resignation. A notice was published
in SPEEA News outlining the process for
nominations. That process required a petition, candidate statement and responses to
questions. This candidate package needed to
be submitted by a specific date before the July
Northwest Council meeting.
Four candidates submitted the package,
including the petitions, to the Northwest
Tellers and the Nomination Committee
by the deadline. Each submittal was
evaluated, found valid, and all four were
nominated as candidates for election by the
Northwest Council.
During the Northwest Council proceedings at the July 14 meeting, a motion to
waive the nomination policy was made and
approved, allowing a new nomination from
the floor for a candidate in the election.
Thus, five candidates were now on the ballot
for the council to consider. In the course of
two ballot votes – a regular vote and a runoff – Alan Rice was declared the winner.
Following SPEEA governing documents, a
majority of the nominees decided to challenge the interim election and appealed
the election to the Northwest Tellers
Committee. After deliberation, governing documents review and input by
SPEEA’s general counsel, the Northwest
Tellers issued a determination on Sept. 1
to re-run the election. The SPEEA Tellers
Committee concurred with that ruling.
The NW Tellers wrote: “The VP interim
election is set aside based on an improper
procedure which allowed a nomination from
the floor at the July Council meeting. This
change in the published nomination/election procedures occurred without notification of all members of the change.”
The Northwest Tellers also declared
the Northwest Vice President position
vacant and further directed the Nomination Committee be reactivated, go through
the nomination process again – requiring
a validated petition of all nominee candidates – and rerun the interim election.
Note: The NW Tellers have the authority
to overturn elections. Their determination
has been appealed to the Judicial Review
Committee (JRC). The JRC is the final
hearing body on election appeals and their
ruling will either uphold or overturn the NW
Tellers determination.
I have faith in our processes, governing documents and our Northwest Tellers.
SPEEA is a democratic organization. We
follow the rules to ensure integrity of our
procedures and meet Department of Labor
requirements for union elections.
SPEEA NEWS / October 7, 2005 / No. 1990
•7
Remember to vote
Constitutional
referendum
ballots due Oct. 26
B
Elected leaders gather for training
SPEEA President Jennifer MacKay, opens the two-day training session for Executive
Board and officers from the Midwest and Northwest regions at the Tukwila Hall on Sept.
26 and 27. The event provided the forum for extended face-to-face discussion about issues
and goals. The group also attended a negotiations lunchtime rally in Auburn.
Executive Board
Mini-Minutes –
Sep. 1, 2005
Attendees: Jennifer MacKay, Cynthia Cole,
Larry Marrell, Tom McCarty, Alan Rice,
Bill Hartig
Council: Jim Mathis, Bob Wilkerson, Joel
Funfar, Judi Hurd
Guest: Al Withers, Ron Mathes, Dave Landress
Staff: Charles Bofferding, Phyllis Rogers
At their regular bi-monthly meeting, the
Executive Board:
• Reconsidered a motion to sign the Sound
Health Contract until some changes were
made to the contract.
• Reviewed membership rights with General
Counsel.
• Proposed changes to the temporary medical to include all SPEEA-represented
employees no matter which company they
work until the employer-provided medical
coverage becomes effective.
• Approved funds for two Spokane members
to attend the NW Aerospace Supply Chain
Development event sponsored by Airbus.
• Approved travel and expenses for SPEEA
to visit with EADS in Wichita.
• Authorized funds, not to exceed $65,000,
to refurbish the Tukwila Council room
and $20,000 for furniture and upgrades.
• Approved a donation of $5,000 in support
of the IAM strike.
The next meeting of the Executive Board was
Sept. 22.
Tech career fair
T
he Pacific NWTech Career Fair will
be held from 3 to 7 p.m., Tuesday,
Oct. 18, at the University of
Washington in Bothell (bldg: UWI Room
176 – North Creek Café).
This is a forum in which Washington technology oriented companies, entrepreneurs,
and small & medium business owners can
match their job requirements against a pool
of local talent.
Job seekers must have a bachelor’s degree and
experience in any of the following: software,
engineering, IT, marketing, training, QA,
sales, manufacturing, management, support,
technical writing or finance.
Registration is required and is free
for job seekers. For more details, go to:
www.pacificnwtech.org.
Correction
I
n the SPEEA News Sept. 23 article:
“Opportunity to join weight-loss pilot,”
the correct calculation for Body Mass
Index (BMI) is to multiply your weight
in pounds by 704.5, then divide it by the
square of your height in inches. If you are
interested in more details about the pilot,
send an e-mail to [email protected].
allots will soon be mailed to all
SPEEA members regarding a referendum to amend the SPEEA constitution. The proposed changes to eight
separate sections of the constitution are
highlighted in the ballot package. The proposed changes were triggered by questions
raised in the past few years. Members ratified the constitution in 2000.
Ballots will be counted at SPEEA Seattle
Hall on Oct. 26.
For more information, talk to your
Council Rep or go to www.speea.org.
Partnership seeks
SPEEA members
from IDS, PW
T
he Puget Sound Integrated Defense
Systems/Phantom Works SPEEABoeing Partnership is seeking
SPEEA members to serve on two partnership teams. Four SPEEA representatives
on each team will work with managers to
address issues concerning work environment and training for future skill needs.
Detailed descriptions of the work statements can be viewed at www.speea.org.
If you are interested in serving on either
team, please send an email to dean.
[email protected] by Oct. 24, with
the following information:
• which team you’d like to serve on
• why you’re interested in this issue
• how long you’ve been a SPEEA member
• other SPEEA activities you’ve
participated in
• your relevant experience
• your participation in collaborative
problem-solving
• your management’s concurrence
if you are selected
Candidates will be interviewed and
selected by SPEEA members of the IDS/
PW Partnership Steering Team.
In sympathy
B
ob McGrady, a former SPEEA Council Rep in Portland, Ore., died Sept. 18,
of lymphoma at age 72.
Memorial donations can be made to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research
Center. For more details, go to: www.fhcrc.org or call 1-800-279-1618.
8
Bargaining_Unit
Pop
Ttl Sal.
$ Increase to M% Below Market
Wichita Engr. Unit
799
$64,225,208
$3,913,692
-6.1%
Professional Unit
11,835
$973,722,733 $40,951,667
-4.2%
• SPEEA NEWS / October
7, 2005 /Unit
No. 1990
Technical
5,567
$350,673,624
$4,992,176
-1.4%
$1,388,621,565
CompensationGrand
andTotal
the market18,201
continued from
page 1
Where is
Boeing now in
the market?
-3.6%
Market Reference Comparison
Wichita Engr. Unit
Professional Unit
Technical Unit
0%
% Below Market Reference
market position, it is good
business as well. It is the
strategy that allows Boeing to
attract, retain and motivate
the employees who are best
able to keep Boeing services
and products in a premier
position.
$49,857,535
-1%
-2%
-3%
To see how Boeing stacks
up to the market, look at
-4%
Boeing’s own target, the
SJC market reference, as
-5%
the benchmark. Certainly,
SPEEA has no expectation
-6%
that every employee must
-7%
earn at least the market reference for his or her job family
and grade. There is a range of
performance, and there ought to be a range
of salaries paid reflecting it. We do expect,
however, that in total, the premier performance of SPEEA-represented employees be
reflected in their salaries.
How should the
money be spent?
The selective salary adjustment pools in the
SPEEA contracts need to accomplish two
major functions. First they need to capture
movement of the overall market. Second,
they need to provide adequate funds for
career salary growth.
Salary adjustments in the overall market, in
SPEEA’s opinion, are best accomplished by
general wage increases. This insures that an
employee who is performing well enough
to keep his or her job doesn’t have to worry
about getting a salary increase that will preserve their salary relative to the market.
Salary adjustments to employees for increased
performance and career progression are best
done by selective salary increases. Ironically,
these salary increases often “cost” the employer nothing as they are funded by replacing
the retiring senior and highly paid employees
with newly hired younger and lower-paid
employees. There is a “conveyor belt” effect
of employees starting their career at one end
and having movement along the belt largely
funded by the difference between those leaving the belt and those joining.
In the last 12 months, Boeing has hired
more than 1,500 engineers. These employees have received either no salary increase
or only the minimum guaranteed salary
increase since their date of hire. In gen-
eral, employees at the start of their careers
need larger percentage salary increases to
move them along their career progression
than older employees. Because of this large
number, we believe that salary increase
pools will need to be supplemented to
insure adequate funds are there for everyone.
SPEEA Negotiations team members expect
these negotiations will include an open and
thorough discussion of the labor market,
Boeing’s relationship to the market and the
realities of Boeing’s workforce. With the
facts on the table, the teams expect that the
ultimate wage proposal from Boeing management will reflect its desire to retain and
attract premier employees.
UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULES
NORTHWEST MEETINGS
(ALL TIMES PDT)
MIDWEST MEETINGS
(ALL TIMES CDT)
Thursday, Oct. 13
5:00 p.m. Council Meeting
Tuesday, Oct. 11
4:00 p.m. MW Women’s Advocacy Committee
Monday, Oct. 17
Tuesday, Oct. 18
Wednesday, Oct. 19
Wednesday, Oct. 19
Thursday, Oct. 20
5:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 19
Thursday, Oct. 20
5:00 p.m. MW Governing Documents
4:30 p.m. MW Legislative & Public Affairs
Wednesday, Oct. 26
5:00 p.m. Health & Wellness
BUNs
Organizational Planning
SPEEA Governing Documents
NW Governing Documents
Executive Board
No meetings scheduled
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posting on SPEEA Bulletin Boards