EVERETT — Jetliner production is set to halt at 12:01 AM in Puget Sound, costing The Boeing Company as much as $100 million per day and further stymieing its struggling 787 Dreamliner program with the walkout of 27,000 machinists.
Negotiations between Boeing and the International Association of
Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union (IAM) collapsed after a 48-hour
contract extension yielded no new breakthrough.
Boeing says that for the, “787 in particular, a protracted strike
could risk the ability to fly in the fourth quarter,” adding
“mitigation plans are in place to minimize impact of work stoppage.”
The 787 programme is already fifteen months behind schedule.
All aircraft completed prior to the strike will be delivered on
schedule, and Boeing pledges continuing support for all aircraft in
service.
Boeing has estimated that it will deliver between 475 and 480
aircraft in 2008, a number that is likely to be impacted with the
strike.
For the Next Generation 737, Boeing’s highest production rate
aircraft, each day that the strike rolls on means one less 737
delivered to airlines, many in desperate need of fuel efficient
aircraft to replace aging fleets.
In the first half of 2008 Boeing delivered 187 737s.
For the widebody twin-engine 777 programme, every five days means
one less aircraft delivered. During the first half of 2008 Boeing
averaged a production rate of just under seven per month to deliver 39
777s to its customers.
Currently, Boeing has eleven 777 aircraft at various states of
completion on the flight line at its Everett, Washington facility,
including four for Emirates, two for Brazil’s TAM, and one each for
Cathay Pacific, Air Canada, Qatar Airways, Asiana Airlines and fledgling
trans-pacific Australian carrier V Australia, which is set to begin
service from Sydney to Los Angeles on 15 December.
In addition, the 777 freighter program is undergoing a certification
campaign with two aircraft based at Boeing Field in Seattle. The first
777F is set to be delivered later this year.
For Boeing’s lowest rate production aircraft, the widebody 767 and
747 lines, the first half of 2008 saw an output of roughly one per
month, delivering six and nine aircraft respectively.
An IAM strike also halts production for the 747-8F, which is scheduled for roll-out in February of next year.
On 3 September, 87% of the IAM membership–Boeing’s largest
union–voted to strike, with 80% rejecting the company’s best and final
offer. Later that evening, Boeing and the IAM leadership agreed to a
48-hour extension in the contract to negotiate with the assistance of a
federally appointed mediator.
“Despite meeting late into the night and throughout the day,
continued contract talks with the Boeing Company did not address our
issues,” said Tom Wroblewski, IAM district president, in an open letter
to the union membership.
Boeing also expressed its disappointment in the outcome of the negotiations.
“Over the past two days, Boeing, the union and the federal mediator
worked hard in pursuing good-faith explorations of options that could
lead to an agreement. Unfortunately the differences were too great to
close,” said Scott Carson, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial
Airplanes who was present at the negotiations.
This will be the first time the IAM has voted in favor of a strike
in back-to-back contract negotiations. The union’s 2005 strike lasted
for 28 days.
As IAM prepares to strike, both sides indicated it was the
responsibility of the other to step up and return to the negotiating
table.
“We are interested in speaking to the IAM,” said a Boeing spokesman.
“And when we hear from [the IAM] we’ll be able to [continue
negotiations].”
“If this Company wants to talk,” said Wroblewski. “They have my number, they can reach me on the picket line.
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This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.