SPEEA Rejects Furloughs for Union's Members at Boeing

SEATTLE -- On Thursday, SPEEA’s Executive Board unanimously rejected a written request from the Boeing Co. to include engineers and technical workers represented by the union in its planned furloughs of non-union workers.

“We don’t see any compelling reason to change the provisions of our collective bargaining agreement,” said SPEEA President John Dimas. “We rejected the request. Our contracts, with their legally enforceable prohibitions on furloughs, remain in place.”

“Rather than conserving cash to cover the mistakes of the past,” Dimas said. “Boeing management needs to invest in something that can generate future profits – its workforce.”

“To repair its balance sheet, Boeing needs to make striking Machinists an offer that would end the current dispute and put them back to work,” Dimas continued. “Boeing financiers can’t generate revenue – that takes unionized Machinists, engineers, and technical workers who are on the job, building, certifying, and delivering aircraft to paying customers.”

The Executive Board is a seven-member body of union members elected by their peers to set policy for the union.

Earlier this week, Boeing announced that non-union workers at the company will be forced to take one week of unpaid leave each month that the Machinists strike against the company lasts.

It was the wrong move, said SPEEA Executive Director Ray Goforth: “Boeing’s financial problems are largely self-inflicted. Instead of creating some Rube Goldberg furlough scheme to preserve cash, Boeing should give the IAM a contract offer that reflects the value they generate for the company so everyone can get back to building airplanes.”

SPEEA is strongly supporting the striking Machinists Union Districts 751 and W24, which voted 96% to strike against Boeing on Sept. 12.

“The IAM’s success at the bargaining table now will lay the foundation for our own SPEEA contract talks in 2026,” Dimas said. “I encourage members of our union to continue supporting the Machinists, and in particular to volunteer to spend time during your off-work hours standing on picket lines alongside them.”