W SPEEA works issues on voluntary

October 24, 2014 / No. 2216
Representing aerospace professionals with competence, integrity and action
SPEEA works
issues on
voluntary
layoff at Spirit
At a meeting hosted by the Washington State Labor Council, SPEEA sought support for strengthening aerospace tax incentives. Shown here from left: Chelsea Orvella, SPEEA legislative director, Dan Peters, Area Rep, Brent McFarlane,
NW vice president, Joel Funfar NW vice president (with microphone), and Gov. Jay Inslee (at the podium).
Governor responds to
question on tax incentives
W
ashington State Gov. Jay Inslee responded to a question raised by Northwest
Vice President Joel Funfar on behalf of SPEEA and the Machinists’ union seeking support for increasing accountability in the aerospace tax incentives.
Hear Gov. Inslee’s response in a video posted on the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee
web page at www.speea.org (drop-down menu for Member Tools, Political Action).
The governor attended the meeting hosted by the Washington State Labor Council
(WSLC), Oct. 15. At the meeting, Funfar introduced himself as a member of SPEEA and
asked the following:
In November 2013, you called for a special session of the Washington State Legislature
to pass an extension of the aerospace tax incentives worth an estimated $8.7 billion, the
largest state tax break in U.S. history. Labor generally supported your proposal because,
like you, we thought it would help our state land the 777X airplane and lead to more
good aerospace jobs in Washington. At the time SPEEA, the State Labor Council and
some Legislators expressed concern the legislation did little to secure design engineering jobs like the protections included for 777X manufacturing jobs. Unfortunately the
legislative package was passed without any mention of design work and now we see
more than 6,000 good paying engineering jobs being moved out of state by The Boeing
Company. Were you disappointed with Boeing's announcement to move 6,000 engineering jobs to Southern California, Oklahoma, South Carolina, St. Louis and even
Russia and would you be willing to work with the IAM and SPEEA to better connect
Washington jobs and job standards to the aerospace tax preferences?
Share your story
Are you impacted
by Boeing’s job cuts?
B
oeing is moving work away from
traditional locations in the Puget
Sound and sending it elsewhere. Tell
SPEEA what it means to you, your colleagues and your families by completing a
SPEEA form available at www.speea.org.
The form includes a box to check if you are
willing to share your personal story with
your state legislators in support of a joint
effort by SPEEA and the Machinists. We are
working together to seek more accountability in aerospace tax incentives to make sure
good-paying jobs stay and grow in this state
in return for the record tax breaks.
In appreciation – P2
What’s your
leadership style? – P3
W
ICHITA - SPEEA is working
issues related to the recently
announced Voluntary Layoff
Program at Spirit AeroSystems, including
the denial of unemployment benefits.
In discussions with the Kansas Department
of Labor (DOL) Oct. 16, SPEEA learned
employees “should not factor in unemployment” if deciding to take the voluntary
layoff package.
The state DOL asserts employees participating in the Spirit Voluntary Layoff
Program have willingly taken themselves
out of the workplace. As a result, they are
not eligible for unemployment.
The DOL agreed to re-visit its position
if SPEEA can provide information from
Spirit in regards to the total number of
head count reductions Spirit is targeting.
Spirit is waiting for the final totals from the
Voluntary Layoff and Retirement programs.
SPEEA will continue to pursue this and
other related issues and follow up with
represented employees when information
is available.
SPEEA
Connection
survey
S
ince the SPEEA Connection survey
started, more than 1,000 have given
their input. If you haven’t already
taken the brief (8-question) survey online at
www.speea.org, take a few minutes.
Your participation, including encouraging
others to take the survey, will help SPEEA
connect with members’ interests at work
and in their communities.
Go to www.speea.org and click on the dropdown menu for Member Tools/Surveys, then
click on ‘Member Connection Survey.’
SPEEA movie
night – P4
Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 2001 • www.speea.org
2 • SPEEA NEWS / October 24, 2014 / No. 2216
President
Ryan Rule
Executive Director
Ray Goforth
Executive Board
Bob Wilkerson
Jimmie Mathis
Joel Funfar
Michael E. Hochberg
Brent McFarlane
Earl Carter
Treasurer
Secretary
NW Regional VP
NW Regional VP
NW Regional VP
MW Regional VP
SPEEA Council Officers
Shannon Moriarty
Gordon Yip
Theryl Johnson
Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
Midwest Regional Council Officers
Brenda Reiling
Debbie Logsdon
Rhonda Greer
Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
Northwest Regional Council Officers
Dave Baine
Carrie Rule
Rebekah Hewitt
Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
SPEEA Publications
Bill Dugovich Communications Director
Lori Dupuis
Graphic Designer
Karen McLean
Publications Editor
[email protected]
www.speea.org
SEATTLE HALL
15205 52nd Ave S • Seattle, WA 98188
M-Th, 8 am to 5 pm • Fri, 8 am to 4:30 pm
Phone: (206) 433-0991
1 (800) 325-0811
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-Th, 8:30 am to 5 pm • Fri, 8 am to 4:30 pm
Phone: (316) 682-0262
In appreciation
For many years of dedicated service to SPEEA-IFPTE Local 2001, the SPEEA Council presented certificates of
appreciation to Midwest Vice President Earl Carter, left, and former Northwest Vice President Ron Shoemaker
(shown left, with SPEEA Council Treasurer Gordon Yip). Both Carter and Shoemaker are retiring. In addition
to serving on the Executive Board, both served as Council Reps, and took an active role in negotiations, along with
many other efforts in support of workers’ rights and collective bargaining.
SPEEA Council Meeting – Oct. 9
At their quarterly meeting, the SPEEA
Council:
Recognized new Council Reps:
• B-10 Ernie White (Bellevue)
• E-1 Mark Worden (Everett) who
moved from district E-25 where he
was serving as a Council Rep
Voted on the following motions:
• M14-017 – Support for legislation
requiring a minimum of two persons
on railroad engine train crews and support for US rail infrastructure mainte-
nance and safety. Motion passed. For:
87. Against: 6. Invalid: 3.
Per SPEEA governing documents, passage
or adoption of SPEEA legislative or public
issues requires a published ballot with a simple
majority. Print ballots were sent from Everett
and Wichita to SPEEA headquarters for
counting and results were announced Oct. 20.
• M14-018 – Support for United
Auto Workers (UAW) Local 1069
(Pennsylvania) at Boeing in contract
negotiations. Motion passed. For: 86.
Against: 9.
Everett Council Rep vacancy
F
or those who are interested in serving
as their co-workers’ union representative and are eligible, the following
vacancy is still available.
• Everett (Prof only) – E-11
Building: 40-87, floors 1 & 2
If you reside in this district, meet the
minimum one-year SPEEA membership qualification and are interested in serving as your co-workers’
Council Rep, complete and return
your petition* by noon, Tuesday,
Nov. 11.
You can deliver the petition to
the nearest SPEEA Union Hall in
Tukwila or Everett or fax to: (206)
374-2213.
If you have questions, contact Terry
Hall at (206) 674-7360 or email:
[email protected]. Once seated,
an extensive training course is provided.
*The 2013-2015 Council Rep petition can
be downloaded at www.speea.org. (SPEEA
Councils/Forms and Petitions).
SPEEA NEWS / October 24, 2014 / No. 2216 •
3
UPCOMING
TRAINING/EVENTS
See online calendar for details
RSVP where you plan to attend
Puget Sound
Performance
Management Close Out
Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 5 p.m.
SPEEA Tukwila
Monday, Nov. 17 at 4:30 p.m.
SPEEA Everett
SPEEA a sponsor of Kansas BEST
Students from Andover Central High School near Wichita are shown here with mentors, including SPEEA member
Tobias DiGennaro, a Spirit AeroSystems engineer, busy building their robot for competition through Kansas
BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology). See a related article in the November Spotlite. Shown
above from left: Michele Capovillo-Searle, Fabio Capovillo-Searle, Tanner Storment, Ron Engels, mentor,
and DiGennaro, mentor.
Executive Board mini-minutes – Oct. 2
Attendees: Bob Wilkerson, Jimmie
Mathis, Mike Hochberg, Joel Funfar,
Brent McFarlane, Earl Carter
Excused: Ryan Rule
Council: Dave Baine, Shannon Moriarty
Staff: Ray Goforth, Bob Rommel, Robin
Fleming, Steve Spyridis, Bob Brewer, Stan
Sorscher, Pauline Tamblyn
At their regular meeting, the Board:
• Approved extending the leasing
contract for the Wichita office
until Dec. 31, 2017.
• Approved SPEEA time for Midwest
Council Rep Donna Lehane to
attend the quarterly meeting of the
Kansas AFL-CIO Board, Oct. 14.
• Approved SPEEA time and travel
expenses for SPEEA Council Chair
Shannon Moriarty to attend the
Midwest Council meeting and meet
with members Dec. 11-14 in Wichita.
What’s your leadership style?
K
nowing about leadership styles can help you work with others whose strengths differ. All styles working together strengthen a team, noted Sarah Laslett, the director of the Washington State Labor Education and Research Center (LERC).
Analytical
• Attention to detail
Driver
• Task oriented
Photos with
Santa at SPEEA
Drop by either day between
10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 6
SPEEA Everett
Saturday, Dec. 13
SPEEA Tukwila
Hosted by the Northwest Membership
Activities Committee
Wichita
Veteran’s Day parade
Saturday, Nov. 8 at 11 a.m.
Downtown Wichita
Sign up to hand out U.S. flags email [email protected]
Fall Movie Night –
‘Interstellar’*
Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.
13th Avenue Warren Theatre
Half-price seating in the balcony/lounge
Bowling with Santa*
Saturday, Dec. 13 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Derby Bowl – includes gifts for children
• Serious and methodical
• Focused on results
Free for members and their immediate families
• Practical
• Confident
*Hosted by the Midwest Membership Activities Committee
• Logical
Amiable
• Focused on people
• Competitive
Expressive
• Big-picture person
• Team player
• Stimulating
• Friendly
• Impulsive
• Good listener
• Outgoing
Laslett presented this during a workshop at this year’s Leadership Conference. Check out
Washington LERC resources at georgetown.southseattle.edu/lerc.
Sign up for home email
at www.speea.org
4 • SPEEA NEWS / October 24, 2014 / No. 2216
SPEEA movie night shines light on
farm workers’ ongoing struggle
D
ecades after a successful fight to
represent farm workers in collective bargaining, the struggle continues for workers’ rights in the fields.
That was the message from guest speakers following the SPEEA Diversity
Committee’s Movie Night screening of the
recently released movie on Cesar Chavez,
leader of the United Farm Workers.
Chavez led efforts to organize about 50,000
farm workers in the 1970s through multiple non-violent campaigns, including the
Delano grape strike, a hunger strike and
the march from Delano to Sacramento,
California’s state capitol, to protest brutal
working conditions on industrial farms.
Following the movie, representatives from
the United Farm Workers and Familias
Unidas Para La Justicia told of their efforts
to secure fair wages, eight-hour work days
and a contract in Western Washington.
“We’re fighting for a better future for our
children,” said Ramon Torres, president
of Familias Unidas Para La Justicia, noting
that their children, as young as 12 years
old, are working in the fields by their parents’ side for 15-hour days without breaks.
They are urging a boycott of Sakuma Brothers
Berries, also packaged under the Driscoll’s
Berries label and included in Haagen Dazs
strawberry ice cream. For details, see the website at boycottsakumaberries.com.
United Farm Workers (UFW) representative Indira Trejo talked after the movie
about conditions at corporate dairy farms
that supply milk to Darigold, for example.
The workplace injuries are crippling and
yet there is no safety equipment or train-
Shown above from left:
Indira Trejo, United Farm
Workers, Dave Baine,
SPEEA Northwest Council
chair, and David Olivera,
OPEIU, at the Tukwila
hall. Inset at right: Ramon
Torres, president of Familias
Unidas Para La Justicia, and
Edgar Franks, Community
to Community Formación
Cívica project coordinator, at
the Everett hall.
ing. They work 12-hour days without
access to clean water. UFW is urging union
members to learn more about the injustices
and sign a petition at http://action.ufw.
org/page/s/darigoldpetition.
About 50 attended the events at the SPEEA
halls in Everett and Tukwila with a televideo link between the sites. The SPEEA
Diversity Committee hosted the event
in honor of National Hispanic Heritage
Month and invited members, retirees, and
other union friends.
UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULES
NORTHWEST MEETINGS
Monday, Oct. 27
Tuesday, Oct. 28
Thursday, Oct. 30
(ALL TIMES PST)
MIDWEST MEETINGS
Week of October 27, 2014
5:00 p.m. NW Legislative & Public Affairs
4:30 p.m. Women’s Advocacy Committee
4:00 p.m. Diversity Committee
Monday, Nov. 3
Tuesday, Nov. 4
Wednesday, Nov. 5
Thursday, Nov. 6
Week of November 3, 2014
4:00 p.m. Council Officers Meeting
5:00 p.m. Leadership Development & Training
4:30 p.m. ACT Committee
4:00 p.m. Executive Board Meeting
Monday, Nov. 10
Tuesday, Nov. 11
Thursday, Nov. 13
Week of November 10, 2014
4:30 p.m. New Hire Committee
4:30 p.m. Tellers Committee
5:00 p.m. Council Meeting
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION
OF PROFESSIONAL AND
TECHNICAL ENGINEERS
(ALL TIMES CST)
Week of October 27, 2014
No meetings scheduled
Monday, Nov. 3
Thursday, Nov. 6
Thursday, Nov. 6
Week of November 3, 2014
6:00 p.m. Council Officers Meeting
4:30 p.m. MW Membership Activities
6:00 p.m. Executive Board Meeting
Thursday, Nov. 13
Week of November 10, 2014
5:00 p.m. Council Meeting
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