Machinists union president rallies striking workers at Boeing’s Gresham facility

Around 33,000 of Boeing’s unionized workers on the West Coast have been on strike since early Friday. That includes over 1,000 workers in Gresham.

The walkout comes as the machinists union continues to negotiate toward better wages and pensions.

Brian Bryant is the international president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. He visited striking workers outside of Boeing’s facility in Gresham. He spoke to OPB “All Things Considered” host Geoff Norcross from the picket line.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Geoff Norcross: Last week, an overwhelming majority of union members rejected a proposed contract that included pay raises of 25% over four years. It boosted retirement contributions. Many people might hear 25% and think that sounds pretty good. Could you give us some context on why the workers here feel differently?

Brian Bryant: Look, you got to look at it. That’s a combination of 10 years of wage stagnation, and our members said that (25%) did not go far enough to make up for what they’ve lost over those years.

Norcross: The union went into negotiations with Boeing, with a federal mediator on Tuesday. It sounds like things did not go well. What happened?

Bryant: Yeah, that Boeing didn’t show up. They weren’t serious when they came to meet mediation.

Norcross: What do you take away from that, the fact that they are just “not serious,” to use your words?

Bryant: I take it they don’t know what direction to go and we’re trying to guide them. They’ve got a blueprint. They know how to resolve this strike. They know what it’s gonna take to resolve this strike. All they gotta do is use that same blueprint on their workers.

Norcross: Here, Boeing has been at the center of controversy lately, particularly when it comes to safety. A door plug from a Boeing plane fell not too far from where we’re standing right now. There are astronauts still stuck in space due to faulty spacecraft. Is the union using this moment to help get a better deal?

Related: Portland teacher recounts finding Boeing door plug in his yard

Bryant: Those are our issues also, that we’re discussing in this negotiation. Look, we had many quality inspections that have been deleted by the company over the course of time. We believe that that leads to a lot of Boeing’s problems. It’s our position, we want those jobs restarted, those inspections put back in place so that you have those checks and balances and making sure that the safest and best product is being pushed out there.

Norcross: Do you think though that the negotiations might be a little bit softer because of all the problems that Boeing is having outside of what your negotiations are trying to get?

Bryant: Look, the bottom line is, anything that’s going on with the Boeing Corporation right now is none of the workers’ faults, none of the union’s fault. Those are all decisions that were made at the corporate level, executive level and upper management level. So they’re the ones making the bad decisions that are putting the Boeing Corporation in the position that they’re in. We’re not going to take the blame for that. We shouldn’t take the blame for that. We don’t have to take the blame for that. Boeing has themselves to blame. Where does it put us as far as in a position for negotiations? Look, this company’s got to get back on track. They’ve got to go back to building a reputation that they used to have. The only way they’re going to do that is they’ve got to get this strike resolved.

Norcross: The company announced this week it is temporarily furloughing tens of thousands of workers for the foreseeable future until that contract is reached. The strike also put a halt to airplane production. At what point could the strike affect airlines and travelers?

Bryant: I wouldn’t even dare to answer that question. If there was planes that were going to be [immediately] delivered to airlines, like next week. You wouldn’t see any impact in the near future on the flying public. Look, we want to resolve this strike too, and it’s in Boeing’s best interests that they get this resolved quickly.

Norcross: Basically speaking, what do you hope will happen, and how soon?

Bryant: I hope they go back to the table and Boeing takes the workers here seriously, and they sit down and negotiate a contract that the workers here will ratify.