Cog in the machine...

Needless to say, I’m on distribution for everything sent to our Negotiation Team's "wichita.negotiations@speea.org" e-ddress and I can categorize our mail as:

• Suggestions for negotiations positions that, if not already previously identified and being worked, have been submitted too late to have an impact this late in the game.
  
• Letters of support or condemnation that come from the same bunch of writers every time we send a communique (Betty, thanks for your continued, unquestioning support…)
  
• Letters from first-timers, who say what they have to say and leave it at that

I recently received one of the last from a Decert focal -- NOT my friend Brian [grin] -- that seemed to sum up at least one perspective, so I thought I’d give my ‘put here:

I want to make sure you are aware of where our Tulsa and McAlester teammates are with their contract negotiations because this is where I see all of you leading us. After almost a year without a contract, the agreement that has been reached is basically the BAFO offered last May. Based on the highlights, these folks probably would be thrilled with the SPEEA-WTPU BAFO that you say is an insult and recommended rejection.

How is "second class citizenship" not an insult? And how could we possibly recommend acceptance when we believe Boeing has more than enough spare cash – like the THREE HUNDRED MILLION extra dollars they found in 1st Qtr profits, alone – to be able to afford the fraction we ask for the duration of our entire three-year contract?

One of the perspectives you seem to be neglecting is that, for the bargaining units you mention, their offer represents an INCREASE in their existing benefits, all the while the Company offers us in the WTPU nothing but cuts. This is merely a repetition of the Total Compensation fiasco that got us the union in the first place: Harry raising the benefits of ex-MacDAC workers, burdening those of us in "Heritage Boeing" with cuts to make up the difference.

I personally thought the BAFO was very fair and my advisory ballot vote reflected that. I think you need to put the emotions aside and look at the where you stand. In my opinion, this bargaining unit has very little leverage to demand anything more from the company. The only leverage I see you have is to call a strike which will result in a low percentage walk out that will have a short-term, limited effect.

As long as I can get the right folks in that "low percentage walkout" to walk, the effect will not be "short term" nor "limited."

Boeing is a very powerful, large and intricate structure. But, as we learned on 9/11, even the most powerful "large and intricate structure" in the history of mankind -- the United States of America -- has stress points therein so fragile that the entire system can come close to economic collapse, caused by nothing more than a handful of small, razor-sharp, box cutters.

While I am in no way condoning or approving violence against person or property, my metaphoric point is that there are any number of places within this Company where inattention, alone, would cause significant problems to production, customer service and future profitability. And, trust me, the effects would be neither "short term" nor "limited."

This is a VERY divided bargaining unit and for all the emails you have asked to be sent to management supporting your position, management also has received a lot of email supporting the company’s position.

I have just one question… are you freakin’ insane?!

The only hope most of you "old timer" Computing folks have of retaining a decent job for the rest of your worklife in Harry’s version of Boeing is through the protections of a contract you’ve chosen to fight. Where’s the logical code in that?

I think you all need to be happy with winning the battle and getting to keep your union but be man and woman enough to accept you have lost the war.

"Battle?" "War?!"

Heck, man… I’m more than happy to stop fighting, completely, if local management would just get over their slighted egos and give us an contract offer equitable to our coworkers…

-- Bill, who’ll stop fighting nanoseconds after our so-called "leaders" choose to do so…