SEATTLE — Members of SPEEA’s Professional and Technical bargaining units have both ratified four-year contract offers from Boeing, avoiding a potential strike when the existing contract expires on October 6.
According to the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, members of the Prof Unit, which represents nearly 13,000 engineers and scientists, approved their contract with a 67.6% yes vote, 7,895 to 3,780. Members of Tech Unit, which includes more than 4,000 analysts, designers, technicians and other specialists, approved their contract with a 53.5% yes vote, 2,061 to 1,793.
Under the new four-year agreements, all SPEEA-represented workers at Boeing sites in Washington, Oregon, California and Utah will receive 10% wage increases effective Oct. 2, along with an additional day of paid leave to be used before the end of the year.
Additionally, about 800 workers identified as being low-paid will get a separate increase intended to bring them closer to labor-market averages for their skills and experience.
All workers will receive another 4% wage increase in March. Wage pools will increase 6% in 2028, 2029 and 2030, with each SPEEA-represented worker receiving a guaranteed 4% increase, while the remaining 2% will be paid out based on management evaluation of individual performance.
SPEEA projects pay for the average union-represented engineer will increase from $152,000 to $208,000 over the life of the contract; compared to the high of $197,000 in the rejected first offer. Pay for the average SPEEA tech will increase from $119,000 to $163,000 in this contract; compared to $154,000 in the first offer. SPEEA’s two bargaining units rejected a previous Boeing labor contract, voting it down on August 21st and authorizing a strike. After the August ‘no’ vote by SPEEA members, further labor negotiations where scheduled that produced today’s accepted four-year contract. The first offer was voted down by both groups, the Prof unit had voted 64.3% to reject Boeing’s first offer; the Techs voted 71.9% against it.
“We secured many victories that some people thought were completely out of reach when this negotiation cycle started,” SPEEA Negotiation Team said in a joint statement. “All of these gains would not have been possible without your individual actions and our collective strength.”
SPEEA spokesperson, Bryan Corliss, tells the EverettPost.com, the pay increase takes effect for the pay period that begins tomorrow and the rest of the contract takes effect on Oct. 7.
Artificial Intelligence played a role in the new labor contract for SPEEA. It includes a commitment to a joint labor-management committee to study potential uses of AI. With the contract ratified, SPEEA “leaders and activists still have a job to do,” the Negotiation Team said. “We must hold Boeing accountable for the promises it made at the table. We need to work with Boeing and pressure management to rebuild an environment suitable for fostering trust. Without trust, we will likely find ourselves right back where we were.”
The vast majority of the SPEEA-represented professionals work at Boeing facilities in Western Washington. Smaller groups work at Boeing sites in Oregon, California and Utah.
Aviation analysts call the new SPEEA contract vital for Boeing to avoid a work-stoppage that would potentially interrupt or delay FAA certification for certain models that preclude delivery to customers and the cash infusions they bring to bolster Boeing’s ledger.
In September, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told investors, “Let me be clear—we’re working very hard to try to avoid any kind of a work stoppage. That’s our key priority because the impact would be significant. Essentially, the 777-certification program shuts down until we get the engineers back, and it would have a ripple effect into our production.”
According to SPEEA negotiators, the approved contracts:
• Include better language regarding work-for-home and remote work arrangements.
• Drops the limit on mandatory overtime to 96 hours a quarter for Profs and 112 hours a quarter for Techs. The previous limit was 144 hours.
• Requires Boeing to provide SPEEA members with data on future workforce needs to help workers better plan their careers with the company.
The offer also includes improvements negotiated as part of the first Boeing proposal, which include:
• Three extra days of annual paid leave
• Improvements in health and dental benefits with no change in cost
• A commitment for twice-annual meetings with the president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and other senior Boeing executives to discuss how SPEEA members can best be deployed to meet the company’s goals
• The creation of new union-represented workforce roles to ensure that union members have the right skills to fill future jobs at Boeing, and more funds for SPEEA-represented workers to get the necessary training
SPEEA represents more than 20,000 engineers, technical workers and pilots at Boeing sites in Washington, Kansas, Oregon, California and Utah. It is affiliated with the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers as IFPTE Local 2001.