Rather than bargaining in good faith, union bosses are holding hostage the careers of thousands of St. Louis workers as they turn to manipulative tactics in their fight against the Boeing Company.
In late September, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 837 labor union held a ratification vote for a new contract between Boeing and 3,200 of its employees at an aerospace and defense facility in St. Louis, Missouri. The union initiated a labor strike among those employees more than two months ago, putting them out of work with no pay while production at the facility has come to a halt. Once IAM and Boeing mutually agree on a new contract, the strike can end and the workers can regain their livelihoods.
There’s only one problem: The union never collectively bargained with Boeing to create the contract proposal that was voted on last month. They simply drew it up.
Traditionally, when a company and a labor union are in disagreement over the terms of a new contract, both sides come to the table and negotiate until they arrive at an agreement that is acceptable by both sides. Only then is the contract is brought up for a ratification vote among the union members.
This was the case with previous contract offers from Boeing. In July, before the union initiated a strike, IAM negotiators praised a mutual contract agreement reached between the union and Boeing which promised average wage increases of 40 percent and increases in pension and medical benefits for the St. Louis workers. IAM Resident General Vice President Jody Bennett at the time declared, “With stronger pensions, real wage growth, and better work-life balance, we’ve delivered a contract that meets the moment.”
However, the union eventually went on to reject the negotiated contract proposal and began their strike.
Boeing has since made multiple new contract offers, each with more generous terms than the last. The most recent contract offer increased its offering to 45 percent average wage growth for employees, plus a $4,000 lump-sum ratification bonus and other concessions such as increases to vacation and sick leave. The proposal would have increased average wages from $75,000 per year to $109,000 per year, nearly 70 percent higher than the average Missourian earns. IAM rejected this proposal as well, instead choosing to continue the strike.
While Boeing has repeatedly made concessions in a good-faith attempt to resolve the labor dispute, the union has walked away from the negotiating table.
Instead, IAM led its members to believe that voting on a unilateral list of demands that the union bosses drafted up––and which Boeing already publicly expressed it is unable to accept––would have any possible benefit. The workers voted in favor of that one-sided proposal, which is no surprise: The union bosses invented terms that are simply infeasible, such as massive $10,000 bonuses, a restructuring of the 401(k) program, and even greater pay increases for top-earning employees.
Ahead of the vote, Dan Gillian, Boeing’s Vice President of Air Dominance in St. Louis, called it a “publicity stunt” that creates “false expectations” and “will prolong the strike.” So far, it appears he was correct.
Due to these stalling tactics by the union bosses, today the strike continues on. The workers remain out of work and have already lost an average of $22,000 in pay and benefits. Millions of dollars in economic activity continues to be held up, unable to benefit the people of Missouri.
Soon, the stalling tactics of the union bosses could force workers out of their careers entirely. Having made multiple unrequited offers in the face of the union’s stonewalling, Boeing recently announced that they have begun taking steps to hire permanent replacement workers so that they can get the St. Louis economy moving again. If IAM keeps workers on strike for much longer, there might not be a role for them to return to when the strike finally ends.
It takes two to negotiate, and the calamitous effects of this strike will only come to an end when IAM’s union bosses are willing to come to the table.
Federal Affairs Manager at Americans for Tax Reform and Director of the Center for Worker Freedom
