By exhausting its suppliers, Boeing destroyed the quality of its production, according to a union leader
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing put so much pressure on its suppliers to reduce costs and boost its financial results that it “destroyed the health” of its production, says Jon Holden, president of the IAM – District 751 union.
“Boeing has spent a lot of time, since 2012, putting its supply chain under pressure by forcing its suppliers to reduce their prices, year after year,” said the head of this company in an interview with AFP. branch of the International Union of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) in Seattle (northwest).
It has nearly 32,000 members, including some 30,000 employed by Boeing.
The group has sold “factories, to reduce its net assets,” says Mr Holden. “I don’t have a problem with efficiency. But I do have a problem when it destroys the health of the production system.”
And, “in wanting to be more efficient, they have eliminated important positions considered redundant, such as quality assurance,” he laments.
For many months, the giant has been accumulating production problems on its three commercial aircraft currently on the market: the 737 – its flagship aircraft – the 787 Dreamliner and the 777. An in-flight incident on an Alaska Airlines aircraft on January 5 was the last straw.
Boeing has since been working to clean up its processes under the close supervision of the FAA regulator, focusing first on the 737 factory in Renton, near Seattle.
The union, along with the engineers’ union, the SPEEA, has been demanding two seats on the board of directors for several months to “participate in changes (…) likely to affect the production process”.
– “Breadwinner” –
“We’ve never asked for this in the past, but it’s about our reputation, our jobs, our livelihood,” the union leader said. “We care about this company and we have a right to have a say in certain changes.”
A request reiterated during the negotiations for the next collective agreement, launched on March 8.
Above all, he is demanding a “substantial” salary increase of at least 40% over three years, as well as better social benefits (health insurance, retirement) and job security.
The latter involves Boeing’s commitment that its next aircraft – announced for 2035 – will be manufactured in the region. “It’s a guarantee of employment for the next fifty years,” Mr Holden emphasizes.
Dave Calhoun, boss of Boeing, assured a Senate inquiry committee on June 16 that IAM union members would “certainly get a raise.” Without further details.
According to Jon Holden, remuneration “has stagnated for eight years” with only four increases of 1% over this period despite “massive inflation”.
At this stage, the two parties have not reached an agreement on the major issues. The union plans, in order to break this status quo, “to soon increase the number of sessions and their duration.”
To add some pressure, its members must vote on July 17 on the principle of striking in the absence of an agreement on September 12 at midnight, the expiry date of the current sixteen-year-old agreement. The last strike (57 days) dates back to 2008.
The union didn’t hold back: it reserved T-Mobile Park, home to the Seattle Mariners baseball team and with nearly 48,000 seats.
“When we are all present at this important event, the factory will be silent,” he writes on his website.
A contrast compared to the usual din rising from the assembly lines, especially when, like Tuesday in Renton, a union demonstration walks the aisles. With foghorns and slogans, signs in hands, noted AFP.
“We benefit from strong leverage currently, and we will use it,” insists Mr. Holden, citing air traffic and passenger numbers “higher than pre-pandemic”.
“There is therefore a huge need for new aircraft, more fuel-efficient models,” he notes.
But production is currently slowed down by production consolidation measures.
The future of Spirit AeroSystems, which among other things supplied the 737 fuselages with numerous imperfections, is part of this system. After getting rid of it in 2005, Boeing is currently negotiating its acquisition.
For Mr. Holden, this acquisition will be “positive”: “It was absurd to part with it and, in the long term, it was not good for Boeing.”
He notes that Spirit is “an integral part of almost every plane built in the United States, even Airbus. We all need it to be in good shape.”
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