Category Archives: unions

SPEEA, Spirit AeroSystems reach tentative agreement on labor contract

Nov. 30, 201111:00 a.m.

Negotiators for Spirit AeroSystems and its technical and professional union have reached a tentative agreement on a 9 1/2 year labor contract, which covers 2,300 employees.

If ratified by members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, the agreement provides a $2,000 signing bonus, annual market raises starting next year, participation in the Spirit Incentive Plan, and increased restrictions on Spirit’s use of contract labor, SPEEA officials said.

The agreement comes after members rejected Spirit’s initial offer by 96.5 percent on July 28.

SPEEA credits an increase in membership to the outcome. Membership has risen from 30 percent to 52 percent since the last vote.

“The company listened to their employees and made significant improvements on their previous offer,” Bill Hartig, SPEEA’s chairman of the Wichita Technical and Professional Unit negotiation team, said in a statement.

If accepted, the contract would use the Salary Information Retrieval System by Mercer, which establishes benchmark salaries, to determine salary pools for annual raises, SPEEA said.

Employees would also participate in the Spirit Incentive Plan, based on company performance targets.

The length of the contract is longer than negotiators wanted, but tying increases to the Mercer data and escalating incentive plan targets will assure salaries remain competitive, the union said.

“It’s been a long journey and a tremendous amount of work and effort has been put in to get to the final result,” Bob Brewer, SPEEA Midwest director said in a statement.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Spirit AeroSystems, unions | Comments Off

Bill to weaken federal labor board passes House

Sept. 15, 20114:52 p.m.

The House of Representatives passed the Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act, that would ban the federal National Labor Relations Board from ordering any employer to shut down plants or relocate work, even if it violates labor law, according to reports in the Associated Press and the Huffington Post.

The measure is not expected to pass in the Democratic-run Senate.

Passage would help protect the Boeing Co., under attack for opening an assembly plant for its new 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina, a right-to-work state.

The NLRB’s acting general counsel filed a controversial complaint in April, saying Boeing violated labor law when it opened the plant and alleging it was a move to retaliate against Boeing’s unionized workers in Washington state for previous strikes.

Boeing has denied the allegations, saying it had solid, economic reasons for the move.

Democrats and union say the bill would weaken the 77-year-old independent NLRB and give Boeing a pass for alleged misdeeds.

Republicans allege the move would kill jobs.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under aviation industry, Boeing, unions | Comments Off

Boeing Wichita, SPEEA tentatively agree to extend contract

Sept. 15, 201111:09 a.m.

While labor talks between Spirit AeroSystems and its professional and technical union have grabbed recent headlines, talks between Boeing and its engineering union have been quieter.

This week, Boeing Wichita and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace reached a tentative agreement  to extend its labor contract with the engineers for two years due to “a lack of clear understanding of the future business” at the site, the agreement said.

Members will vote on whether to accept the extension on Sept. 26.

The lack of understanding involves the unclear nature of what Boeing’s tanker contract with the U.S. Air Force will mean to the Wichita facility, a union official said.

In the meantime, negotiations between Spirit AeroSystems and SPEEA are on hold while SPEEA requests additional data from the company. Talks resumed Sept. 8 after SPEEA members at Spirit rejected the company’s offer of a 9 1/2 year agreement.

SPEEA requested extending the contract with its engineers, said Boeing Wichita spokesman Jarrod Bartlett.

The extension is in the best interest of employees and the company, Bartlett said.

“We’re happy to be able to avoid the need for negotiation, and our employees can focus on business,” he said. The extension is the right option, said B.J. Moore, SPEEA contract administrator in Wichita.

Boeing officials have said that the site has been selected as the tanker’s finishing center. But lots of questions remain, Moore said.

“What does that mean?” Moore said.

Will the bays will be loaded with planes?

“They haven’t said that,” Moore said. “We may be the finishing center doing the engineering, but not the actual mechanical work.”

At the same time, Boeing Wichita has lost some smaller programs it’s had over the years.

“That could affect the head count,” Moore said. “With the uncertainty with what Boeing Wichita is going to be doing in the future, it’s better to get an extension of the existing contract and go on down the road.”

By Molly McMillin | Filed under aircraft manufacturers, Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, unions | Comments Off

Spirit, SPEEA return to the bargaining table

Aug. 25, 201111:03 a.m.

Spirit AeroSystems and its professional and technical union return to the bargaining table today, the first round of talks after members overwhelmingly rejected the company’s offer of a contract on July 28.

Members rejected the 9 1/2 year agreement by 96 percent.

A mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service will be in attendance to observe the talks between Spirit and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace.

SPEEA represents 2,300 employees in the Wichita bargaining group.

Spirit said its first order of business is to listen to a proposal from the union.

“We remain committed to an outcome that keeps our company healthy and the team for the future intact, a model that shares risks and rewards with our SPEEA employees through a long-term agreement we can all support,” the company said in a statement.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under aircraft manufacturers, aviation industry, Spirit AeroSystems, unions | Comments Off

SPEEA members at Spirit AeroSystems to vote Thursday on contract

July 27, 201111:12 a.m.

Tomorrow is decision day for members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace at Spirit AeroSystems.

Members will vote on whether to accept the company’s offer of a 9 1/2 year contract. SPEEA represents about 2,300 professional and technical workers in Wichita.

SPEEA officials recommend rejection, saying it caps salary pools and offers a lower bonus plan than other salaried employees.

Spirit officials say the offer is fair to employees and will help keep the company healthy and its team intact.

A strike vote is not on the table, the union says. Instead, SPEEA wants to return to the bargaining table.

Members will vote at Century II’s Mary Jane Teall Theater. Doors open at 4 p.m. A meeting will begin at 5 p.m. Ballot boxes will close at the conclusion of the meeting.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Spirit AeroSystems, unions | Comments Off

Machinists to negotiate benefits this week with Hawker Beechcraft

July 21, 20112:53 p.m.

Negotiators for Machinists union Local Lodge #733  plan to present Hawker Beechcraft with  economic proposals during contract talks this week.

“We are requesting substantial increases in all levels of benefits,” the union said in an update on its website about the talks.

The union has support from its Strategic Resource Department and insurance experts to help in the talks.

In the meantime, it appears to be getting noisy out on the shop floor. The union is encouraging members to blow whistles during breaks and lunches.

Earlier this week, the union and the company discussed hours of work,  shift starting times and assessment testing.

The current contract agreement expires Aug. 6.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under aircraft manufacturers, Beechcraft Corp., unions | Comments Off

SPEEA leaders recommend rejection of Spirit AeroSystems’ contract

July 19, 20113:33 p.m.

Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace leadership recommended today that union members reject Spirit AeroSystems‘ offer of a new 10-year labor contract when they vote next week.

“We were looking at a 10-year deal, but we couldn’t get the right protections in place for the employees,” said SPEEA Midwest director Bob Brewer.

Member surveys showed salaries, benefits and retirement were top issues in the talks. “We never lost sight of that,” Brewer said.

The contract affects about 2,300 technical and professional employees at Spirit.

The company is focused on keeping Spirit healthy and its team for the future intact, said Spirit spokesman Ken Evans. “We believe this is a very fair offer,” he said. “It was created after months of negotiations in various groups and subcommittees and finally, main table.”

The contract “is too important not to get right,” Evans said.

Brewer said for the union, a big issue was Spirit’s desire to cap salary pools.

“That could ultimately mean we fall well below market (in salaries),” he said.

In addition, a proposed bonus plan was the lowest for any group of salaried employees at Spirit, he said. “We don’t understand that.”

“We will be running a vigorous VOTE NO campaign during the next two weeks,” SPEEA’s executive director Ray Goforth said in an e-mail.

Evans said the company plans to put the offer in front of employees and explain the facts.

Should members reject the contract, SPEEA’s intent is to go back to the negotiating table with the company instead of striking.

A vote by union members is tentatively scheduled for July 28.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Spirit AeroSystems, unions | Comments Off

SPEEA’s professional and technical union gets final offer from Spirit AeroSystems

July 19, 201110:10 a.m.

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace’s technical and professional union received a final offer of a contract proposal from Spirit AeroSystems on Monday.

SPEEA negotiators are meeting with union bargaining unit council members this morning to go over the details of the contract and to select a time for members to vote.

The current contract expires July 25.

Watch for contract details later today.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Spirit AeroSystems, unions | Comments Off

Update on Hawker Beechcraft, Machinists union talks

July 18, 201111:26 a.m.

Hawker Beechcraft and Local Lodge 733 of the Machinists union will return to the bargaining table Tuesday, the union said in an update on its website about ongoing labor talks.

During Thursday’s meeting, the union’s negotiating team answered questions from the company about the Machinists’ proposal, the update said.

Job security is the most important issue in this round of talks, which opened July 7, the union said.

“We need to have specific language in our contract that will secure jobs in Wichita under our Collective Bargaining Agreement,” the union said.

The company agreed last year to preserve 4,000 jobs in Kansas in exchange for a package of incentives from the state, city and county to keep work in Wichita.

The current contract expires Aug. 7.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Beechcraft Corp., unions | Comments Off

Spirit AeroSystems presents SPEEA with counter proposal

July 7, 201112:15 p.m.

Spirit AeroSystems presented the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace negotiators with a counter proposal Wednesday evening, SPEEA said today.

The counter proposal was in response to a proposal the union presented to Spirit on Tuesday.

“While we are approaching agreement on most of the remaining non-economic work force issues, we remain significantly apart on contractor issues and economic processes/practices,” the union said.

Spirit AeroSystems and SPEEA’s technical and professional unit resumed negotiations this week after a break to gain more research into economic issues.

The union represents about 2,300 technical and professional employees at Spirit.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under aviation industry, Spirit AeroSystems, unions | Comments Off