The social unrest is escalating at Boeing. Kelly Ortberg, the new CEO of the American aircraft manufacturer, announced on Wednesday, September 18, that tens of thousands of employees would be placed on partial unemployment. “in the next few days”Since September 13, 33,000 of Boeing’s approximately 171,000 employees have been on strike demanding wage increases. Before they went on strike, more than 95 percent of the aircraft manufacturer’s unionized employees had rejected the deal negotiated between unions and management.
Under this agreement, concluded in particular with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), employees could have benefited from an immediate increase in their pay of 11% and a 25% increase spread over four years. They could also have received a bonus of 3,000 dollars (approximately 2,694 euros). In addition, management had agreed to other benefits such as supervision of overtime, a 9% reduction in health insurance contributions and the extension of parental leave to twelve weeks.
Boeing has also pledged to produce its next aircraft in the Seattle region (Washington State), where its historic production sites in Everett and Renton and in Oregon are located. These are the factories where the vast majority of employees who have already been on strike for a week work.
Offsetting the effects of inflation
For the strikers and their unions, the management’s proposals are largely insufficient. They are in fact demanding wage increases of 40%, in particular to compensate for the effects of inflation in recent years. On a par with what the pilots of several American companies have just obtained. They are also demanding the restoration of their pension scheme.
For the Boeing strikers, the upcoming implementation of the partial technical unemployment system will have serious consequences. In the United States, these employees will no longer be paid and will soon no longer have health insurance. In addition, “to limit the impact” In support of this drastic measure, the new head of Boeing specified that the affected employees would be subject, on a rotating basis, to one week of technical unemployment every four weeks.
“It is important that we take tough measures to preserve our cash flow and ensure Boeing can successfully recover.”Mr Ortberg tried to justify himself on Wednesday, shortly after the failure of federal mediation. According to the Boeing CEO, the partial technical unemployment will also affect “a large number of officers, managers and employees residing in the United States”Just in case, he also added that he and the management team would resign. “to a part of their equivalent remuneration [en proportion] » to the loss due to personnel placed on technical unemployment.
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