SPEEA members to vote on contract, strike authorization

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, IFPTE 2001 sent the following message to members on Thursday, Jan. 31:

SPEEA’s Professional and Technical Bargaining Unit Councils voted to include strike authorization on the ballots going out to members next week to decide whether The Boeing Company’s latest contract offers are accepted or rejected.

Council representatives voted to add strike authorization to the ballots during a special meeting Thursday, Jan. 31. The councils also voted to join the two negotiation teams in their recommendations that SPEEA members REJECT the company’s latest contract offers to 7,400 Technical and 15, 550 Professional employees. The votes by the Technical Unit representatives were unanimous. The Professional Unit representatives voted to add strike authorization to the ballot and recommend rejection with only one dissenting vote.

Ballot packages are scheduled for mailing Feb. 5. Members have until 5 p.m., Feb. 19, to cast and submit their votes. Summaries and full redline versions of the Boeing contract offers are posted on the Contract Offer page of the SPEEA website.

Thousands of union members have heard from their negotiation teams during lunchtime meetings and open house events at SPEEA halls. A full schedule of workplace meetings is on the SPEEA calendar and the website at: www.speea.org.

A strong contract rejection of the offers and strike authorization will give the negotiation teams additional bargaining power to secure contracts that respect SPEEA members’ contributions to Boeing’s continued success.