SPEEA to Picket Boeing & Onex in U.S. and Canada on Wednesday

Business Wire, June 7, 2005

WICHITA, Kan. -- With negotiations on hold for a contract with the buyer of The Boeing Company's Commercial Airplane Division, members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) IFPTE Local 2001 are widening their campaign with coordinated picketing at the headquarters of Boeing and Onex Corporation.

Picketing takes place Wednesday (June 8) at the Chicago headquarters of Boeing and at the Toronto, Ontario headquarters of Onex Corporation. Employees in Renton, Washington and Wichita, Kansas are holding lunchtime rallies. Representatives from the SPEEA Negotiation Team and workers fired by Onex and Boeing this past weekend will be at each location.

Onex is in the final stages of buying Boeing's Wichita Commercial Airplane Division. The plant is the primary manufacturer of 737 fuselage and tail sections, along with various other parts for Boeing aircraft. In recent weeks, more than 1,100 employees have been laid off by Boeing and told they will not have jobs with Onex when the sale completes June 16. The job loss and other cuts will strip an estimated $88 million from the Wichita economy.

"There is no excuse for treating people the way Boeing and Onex are in this divestiture," said Jennifer MacKay, SPEEA president. "Experienced aerospace workers, some with decades of experience and knowledge, are being tossed aside in this frantic drive to cut costs."

The action in two countries illustrates the crisis now facing professional workers, according to Gregory Junemann, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE). The union also represents striking professional workers at Hydro One in Canada. In a show of solidarity, Hydro One workers will join the picket line at Onex in Toronto.

"It is apparent that Onex has no concept of what it takes to run a major aerospace manufacturing facility," Junemann said. "The successes of the Boeing Wichita facility were realized because of the tireless dedication brought to the job by a talented family of workers. It's a very simple equation, treat the employees well, and your investment will reap rich rewards. It's not policies or programs or gimmicks that make companies successful. It's the contribution made by the workers. Sadly, Onex management will have to learn this lesson the hard way."

Times and locations for Wednesday's actions are:

Boeing World Headquarters, 100 N. Riverside, Chicago, Illinois

10 a.m. (CDT) - Picketing

Onex Corporation, 161 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario

10 a.m. (EDT) - Picketing

Boeing Wichita headquarters, 3801 S. Oliver, Wichita, Kansas

11:30 a.m. (CDT) - Rally

Boeing Commercial Airplanes headquarters, 1901 Oaksdale Ave. S.W., Renton, Washington - 11:30 a.m. (PDT) - Rally

SPEEA filed unfair labor practice charges against Boeing and is investigating other actions against Boeing and Onex to fight the employee losses and benefit cuts in Wichita. Onex wants to cut medical coverage, early retiree benefits and deny recall rights to the workers now being cut.

"Corporations cannot be allowed to kick people to the curb," said Charles Bofferding, SPEEA executive director. "There is a better way to change your business and it starts by respecting your employees."

SPEEA represents 4,660 employees in Wichita. Overall, the union represents 21,500 engineers, technical and professional employees at Boeing in Washington, Kansas, Oregon, California, Texas and Utah.