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Boeing strike had its momentsPosted by Randy on: 2005-10-05 07:39:07 in category:
Investments [ Print | Permalink / 0 Comment(s) ] Boeing strike had its moments By Bryan Corliss Herald writer The dust has settled, the burn barrels are gone and the Machinists strike of 2005 is history. But before we close the notebook on the standoff between the Boeing Co. and the workers who assemble its jets, let's take a quick look at some of the players and issues. Most Improved player - Mark Blondin: In 2002, Blondin was the new kid at the top of an unruly bunch of jet mechanics who had more opinions than wrenches in their tool kits. Blondin found himself at the bargaining table responding to unfair labor practice charges from his own members, and in the end he wasn't able to convince two-thirds of them to reject Boeing's contract offer and go on strike. Fast forward three years. This time, 86 percent of Boeing's International Association of Machinists members voted to follow Blondin out to the picket lines, and 80 percent voted to follow him back to work. Machinists union insiders credit Blondin, saying he did an outstanding job of first learning what the members wanted, and building a trust that he could deliver it, so long as they stood behind him. I think he's also grown into the job. One of the defining moments of the strike for me came midway through the contract talks when the Machinists held a Sunday rally at Angel Lake Park in SeaTac. Blondin turned to his 2-year-old son, Noah, in the crowd and vowed never to accept a contract that would give Boeing workers in the next generation benefits less than what their fathers earned. After that, for a lot of Machinists, the strike became a matter of bigger issues, of protecting Wichita and fighting for new employee benefits. It became a matter of principal, and that, most experts will tell you, is a stronger motivator than cash. Blondin still has his detractors in the ranks, particularly in Everett, and there are plenty of union members - even Blondin loyalists - who think they could have squeezed more out of the company with a longer walkout. But Blondin got his people what they wanted most, and got them back to work before they or Boeing was hurt too badly. Biggest Tactical Mistake - McNerney's pension supplement: Boeing did a couple of things to make it easy for Blondin. Handing incoming chief executive James Mc- Nerney a $22 million pension package this summer was one of them. At a Wall Street level, it made perfect sense. McNerney was the man Boeing's board of directors wanted. He had a good track record running a manufacturing company, a background in aerospace and was already a member of the Boeing's board. To get McNerney, Boeing needed to buy out his 3M pension, so it wrote the check. This raised no eyebrows on Wall Street, but did not play well at all on Airport Road, where Boeing Machinists spent a lot of time picketing in September. The symbolism of handing the new guy a big gob of cash while fighting a veteran work force over a few bucks on the pension multiplier was impossible to miss. Boeing's contract offer matched the best pension benefits in aerospace, and the company also matches money Machinists put into 401(k)-style retirement savings plans. But that didn't matter to the Machinists, who figured they would have to draw pensions for more than 600 years to match McNerney's retirement package. From the start, Boeing's pension arguments were drowned out by angry allegations of corporate greed. Most Heroic Move - Ending the Strike Early. Nobody likes to lose. Absolutely nobody likes to lose in a high-stakes poker game that's being played out in public. The temptation had to be, once the Machinists went out on strike, to draw a line on the sidewalk and let the strikers stay out until they mildewed in the winter rain. That's what everyone - analysts to picketers - expected. Instead, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Alan Mulally and his management team decided to swallow their pride and settle the strike. Smart move. The strike delayed some deliveries and will hurt profit margins, which will be pulled down by all the overtime Boeing will have to pay Machinists as it tries to get deliveries back on track. It also added to Boeing's fixed operating costs by increasing its permanent pension liabilities. But because it didn't drag on, the strike didn't cost Boeing any customers. It didn't jeopardize the 787 program. It didn't hurt Boeing's standing with Wall Street - in fact, the stock is flirting with an all-time record price right now. Based on what analysts are saying, settling on union terms didn't cost Boeing an arm and a leg - more like a wrist and an ankle. And because it was over in a month, the strike of '05 didn't blunt the momentum the company has built in its race to overtake Airbus. Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com. Homepage Other open community sites http://www.business-business.biz Please support are sponsors. To design you custom retirement plan. http://www.retirement-plan.us For planning a IRA rollovers. http://www.ira-rollover.us Professional asset allocation and the wonders it can do. http://www.asset-allocation.us Professional money management: National ranked performance. http://www.roth-ira.us Managers selected to fit your needs. http://www.money-managers.us |
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