The Boeing Machinist Strike

The ongoing Boeing Co. machinists stike began Sept. 13, after the union voted to reject the company’s offer of a 25% wage increase over four years, among other things.

Union members had asked for a 40% raise, believing this is fair for the amount of work they do. Boeing workers also feel frustrated by safety conditions and the loss of certain pension benefits, dating back to 2016.

Over 33,000 workers throughout Oregon, Washington, and Southern California have joined the fight against Boeing, hoping the terms of their proposed contract agreement are met. In Oregon specifically, the picket line in front of Boeing’s facility on Sandy Boulevard in northwest Gresham has gained much support from passersby and nearby residents.

Boeing is still attempting to continue production at this time, which may lessen the quality of its product, thus furthering the strikers’ point that the firm does not care about safety concerns as much as they do. Managers are now trying to take over the machinists’ jobs at a much slower, error-filled pace, they said.

One Boeing machinist on strike, Scott Lacey, told The Advocate, “I know that they just burnt up a forklift in the parking lot. That’s what happens when you have people who don’t know what they’re doing trying to do our jobs.” He recounted it happening right in front of the Gresham picket line where all the strikers could see, considering it “comical.”

The machinists do not have the support of their managers, making it much harder to stand up for themselves against a large company, the strikers add. 

In addition to creating a hazardous work environment, Boeing does not present as a company that addresses safety concerns seriously, according to Lacey.

 “Honestly, a big chunk of that (safety concern) is the machinists union – they are the ones driving that,” he said. This is largely due to clauses in their negotiated contracts that give them the ability to address safety issues when Boeing refuses. 

“As far as quality goes, they have a lot of work to do,” Lacey said of the company. “They need to start listening to the professionals who do it for a living. It seems their main focus lately has been on delivery” of new aircraft to buyers, he said.

The machinists have for quite some time been aware of quality issues with no way to fix them because of how quickly Boeing expects them to finish production, Lacey explained. Boeing now has a growing reputation for faulty planes, but without the support of the company, the employees have no opportunity to thoroughly review or document their work to prevent safety issues, he said.

While the decision to enter a strike is hard professionally, it is even more challenging on a personal level. With the cost of living already high and the holidays coming up, meeting basic living needs has proved challenging for many of the workers. Many employees have ongoing medical conditions, medical bills, or costly medications that have become harder to keep up with amid the strike, causing even more frustration.

Lacey said that union members will look after their own.

“There’s people out there that have life-threatening medical issues that have to be addressed. And we’re pretty good at taking care of our members,” he said. “We’ll figure out a way to get them taken care of.”

Workers deeply frustrated by the disruption and who must manage long-term health issues say Boeing has earned a reputation for not considering the well-being of its employees. Meantime, even more employees who have not joined the strike are being financially affected. Due to the company’s estimated $1 billion-a-month loss during the strike, many of its managers are being furloughed. 

According to Lacey, Boeing also asked SPEEA (the engineers’ separate union) to put their members on furlough. It was only due to that union’s contracts that the furlough request was denied, he said. Luckily, both SPEEA and the machinists’ union have been very supportive of each other during this time, he noted.

Advocate Staff