Cog in the machine...

58-42.

That's right... fifty-freakin-eight percent of my white-collar coworkers seem to enjoy (or, at least, "understand") the benefits and protections afforded by my union and our contract. Sure is different than the past two certification elections, when we won by less than one percent.

I guess more of us are starting to realize that, while it may not be perfect, union representation is the best of our current available alternatives. I just wish more of the 58% majority would join my union.


-- Bill, whose life, post-Negotiations and -Decert, should now start to approach "normal"...

QUESTION: Does a contract guarantee minimum protections, wages and benefits?
         Followup: Can the employer disburse more than these minimums, should they have the good will?

QUESTION: Without a union, can your employment be terminated without a just cause?
         Followup: So, like, if I somehow happen to wind up working for one of the petty tyrants around here and he gets POed at me one day, I could be thrown outta here, on his whim?

QUESTION: If you've received only the minimum $750 raises, does it mean that either you're a below-average performer or your boss is an @$$hole?
         Followup: Can the union help the company with the former and you with the latter?

QUESTION: Is the entire argument to decertify my union nothing more than "we might get a bigger 'performance bonus'?"
         Followup: Aren't guarantees better than "might?"


-- Bill, who'll be casting the fifth "Yes" union certification vote of his career...

I guess the Decert folks have chosen to ignore my followups to their previous set of "Frequently Asked Questions" and have instead posted yet another set of Straw Man arguments, using half-truths in an attempt to make their case. So, once again, I ask for The Rest Of The Story, this time regarding their alleged "Logic Challenge"...

Question - Since many of you have been contacted at home or work for the SPEEA poll, has it occurred to you what other confidential/personal information SPEEA has about you?
     ANSWER: SPEEA has access to less personal information than the average HR rep or random supervisor.

Followup: To the best of my recollection, as both a Council Rep and a member of SPEEA's Board of Directors, during the WTPU's lifespan I don't remember a single complaint about misuse of employee personnel data. Could the same be said of that average HR rep or random supervisor?


Question - What was the average age of a Boeing Wichita worker at the time of retirement prior to the sale?
     ANSWER: 61 1/2

Followup: Jeez, I didn't know that... I figured the average age of WTPU folks was in the low to mid-50s. Just what kind of personnel information do you and your outside consultants have? And just who are you, anyway? I mean, I know that Heidi's willing to acknowledge her involvement, but just who are the rest of you anonymous folks, who apparently have access to the same personnel information given to SPEEA?


Question - Don't we need SPEEA representation for Effects Bargaining with Boeing?
     ANSWER: SPEEA is legally obligated to conduct Effects Bargaining, even if they're decertified.

Followup: Effects bargaining has concluded; Boeing has denied each of our issues. SPEEA is currently in various stages of the process to grieve/arbitrate/litigate the issues they believe unresolved. I assume continuance would be dependent upon the same factors impacting previous grievance/arbitration/litigation cases SPEEA has initiated.

My followup question is, when Onex eventually sells us off, who do you propose will conduct effects bargaining then, if we don't have a union?


Question - Have you heard about the decline in union representation across America?
     ANSWER: [Link to an article that doesn't discuss union representation across America.]

Followup: I'm familiar with the decrease in union representation across our country. I'm also familiar with the increase in corporate malfeasance across our country, too. Do you think there's a correlation?

(I do, and I would just reiterate that Mr. Wright stated at our contract presentation meeting that he appreciates SPEEA being able to give him "honest feedback, free from fear or favor.")


Question - How would you rate SPEEA's chances in the court case against Boeing regarding retiree medical benefits?
     ANSWER: No legal precedent, as Boeing hasn't provided retiree medical in other sales/divestitures.

Followup: What about the sale of Wichita's Print Shop to Oce? Employees there were bridged to their early retiree medical; why would you think another sale of part of Wichita, albeit a larger group, would be treated differently?


Question - How many days of pay have you lost so far with SPEEA-WTPU representation?
     ANSWER: 32.5 days of EIP pay.

Followup: None: I didn't have the EIP prior to my quest for union representation, so I really haven't "lost" anything. But suppose we do count it as a loss... how many years will it take for the SPEEA-only raise we received this year to offset the entire EIP bribe thus far? (Hint: fewer than the duration of the current contract.)


Question - What percentage of SPEEA-WTPU represented members voted to approve the contract?
     ANSWER: 29.7%

Followup: Of the 29.7% of coworkers who cared enough to participate, 93% accepted the contract. Do you think the rest didn't care about the outcome or were happy with what they were hearing about the contract proposal or what?


Question - Will you get a guaranteed 17.5% wage increase over the next six years?
     ANSWER: Only $750 is guaranteed to individual employees

Followup: Yeah, but the "average" employee will get 17.5% over the contract, right? And that, in theory, above average employees will get more than average and below average employees will get less, right? And if, by some horrible stroke of luck, you work for a butthead of a supervisor, you'll get at least $750 each year, right? And you have a problem with that?


Question - Will Spirit AeroSystems retain the talented and valued non-represented employees without giving them a raise over the next 6 years?
     ANSWER: Onex hired an outside firm to develop the best compensation forecast package to attract and maintain the market's best employees.

Followup: Yeah, and the outside firm Onex hired was the same folks Boeing hires -- Mercer -- to compute employee compensation. How likely is it that the description of our "market wage" they gave to Onex is any different than that they gave to Boeing? And just what kind of raise did these talented and valued non-represented employees get this year, anyway?


Question - Has SPEEA-WTPU negotiated stock for you?
     ANSWER: IAM negotiated 1000 shares valued at $30,000 within 5 years.

Followup: What's the IAM have to do with being non-represented?

(An examination of the non-reps conditions on Day One will show that they received no stock-related benefits of any kind. It was only after SPEEA negotiated commision-free IPO stock that the benefit was granted to our non-rep coworkers, too.)


Question - Has SPEEA-WTPU negotiated professional assistance with workplace issues or a grievance process for you?
     ANSWER: There are U.S. government laws that protect the American worker with workplace issues.

Followup: Which laws do you think give the non-represented American worker the rights to

"Just Cause" protections from termination "at will."

Have an advocate present during Security, Ethics, and EEO investigations

Voice a grievance and have it heard by an impartial arbitrator

... because best I know, these rights are only granted to those represented by a union.

-- Bill, who reminds y'all to submit your hopefully "frequently asked" questions to "no_wtpu@cox.net," as they've somehow neglected to post their e-mail address anywhere on their website...