LISTEN TO MY ‘ALTERNATIVE VISIONS’ RADIO SHOW TOMORROW, JANUARY 8, 2014, AT 2PM EASTERN TIME (11AM PACIFIC) ON THE PROGRESSIVE RADIO NETWORK
http://prn.fm/category/archives/alternative-visions/
I WILL BE INTERVIEWING BOEING WORKERS FROM THE SEATTLE AREA ON THE MASSIVE CONTRACT CONCESSIONS THEY WERE FORCED TO ACCEPT THIS PAST WEEKEND.
THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF FIRST REPORT ON THE CONCESSIONARY DEAL CONCLUDED THIS PAST WEEKEND, as appeared in COUNTERPUNCH on January 7:
This past weekend, more than 30,000 union workers at Boeing Corp. in Seattle, were forced to accept deep concessions in their union contract, gutting their pensions, future healthcare benefits, wages, and other benefits. Their contract with Boeing had not even expired but they were forced into concessions nonetheless. Nor was the company, Boeing, in any financial distress. It had registered record profits in consecutive years, and had in November 2013 bought back $10 billion in stock from its shareholders and paid another $2 billion in dividends to the same. Nevertheless Boeing demanded concessions, having received communication from Union (IAM) International leadership beforehand of their willingness to grant the same. The combination of Union International leadership pressure, pressure from countless Democratic Party local and state politicians, and the Company’s new offensive, proved too much for local workers to resist. The new concessions will effectively end workers’ defined benefit pensions, cutting retirement by replacing defined benefit with 401ks, and allow the company to end its healthcare insurance benefits before 2018 in accordance with the Obama new health care plan. Wages for new hired workers are projected to decline to levels of minimum wage or less over the next 11 years of the new contract term. “
Listen to the discussion, as the Boeing workers, members of the International Association of Machinists, IAM, locals in the Seattle area tell their story, about the significant development in union bargaining that took place this past week—a development that will no doubt soon reverberate throughout the American union movement in months and years to come as big companies like Boeing step up their attacks on unions, wages and benefits.
BOEING-IAM UNION WORKERS ON THE INTERVIEW WILL INCLUDE:
Shannon Ryker
Shannon Ryker began working at Boeing at 17, and has been an employed 8 years at the company as a final assembly installer on the 767 aircraft and a structures mechanic on the 777 aircraft. She recently started a union support Facebook page called Rosiesmachinists751, which in the last eight months has grown from 8 members to almost 1600.
Jim Levitt
Jim is a 35 year veteran at Boeing, working as a machinist and a tool & die maker. He was at the same time a member of Impact Visuals, a cooperatively owned photo agency specializing in labor and social change from 1985-2001. His photographs have appeared in AFL-CIO, IAM, Teamsters, and other union publications, along with BusinessWeek, Time, the NY Times, Labor Notes, and many other outlets. Before working at Boeing Jim was a graduate student in history.
Hazel Powers
Hazel is a Tooling Inspector at Boeing, a 55 year old single parent, and has worked at Boeing since 1979. She is an IAM District Council Alternate delegate and has held past IAM Local Lodge positions as well. Hazel voted to reject the Boeing contract due to concessions with pension and other benefit cuts, and concern the new contract language is not specific enough
about keeping new aircraft 777X work in Puget Sound.
The Radio Show will also be archived on the above url on the progressive radio network, http://prn.fm/category/archives/alternative-visions/
as well as at http://www.alternativevisions.podbean.com
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