June 10, 2010
For Immediate Release
IAMAW District 837
Boeing
Machinists Prepare For Strike
Machinists employed at the Boeing-St. Louis Defense Systems Unit
will vote Sunday, June 13, 2010 on the final contract offer delivered to
the Bargaining Committee on June 10, 2010. The Bargaining Committee is
set to recommend the membership REJECT the offer as final negotiations
did not resolve many of the issues that arose during the process. The
Ratification Vote will take place at 10:00 A. M. at the St. Charles
Family Arena in
Several issues that went unresolved forced the Bargaining Committee to take a strong stand against the proposed contract. The final offer includes language that will exclude future members from the Defined Pension Plan current members are included in. Gordon King, President and Directing Business Representative of District Lodge 837 said, “This Committee will not recommend a contract that sells out future hires and denies them the opportunities that our Membership has worked hard to put in place. Accepting this proposal will create an unfair system of retirement which will put the pensions of current Members at risk in the future.”
According to the Union, The Company proposal will result in and almost 66% decrease in the retirement incomes of future hires, a proposal that is unacceptable to the Union leadership.
“Ultimately, the decision to strike will be in the hands of our
members. The Bargaining Committee is unanimous in their decision to
recommend the membership reject the proposed contract at this Sunday’s
Ratification Meeting,” declared King. “Our Members and future hires from
this community deserve to be treated with respect. We will not buy into
a tactic to divide our
District Lodge 837 union members work at Boeing Defense, Space, & Security (BDS&S) work on F/A-18, F-15, and C-17 military aircraft. BDS&S generated an operating profit of nearly $3.3 billion in 2009.
The current contract is set to expire on June 13, 2010.
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