More than 140 laid-off SPEEA members have been recalled by Boeing through a provision in our union contracts that gives SPEEA members priority in the hiring process.
The union members started returning to work in July, and there has been a steady increase in the number recalled in recent weeks.
In some cases, SPEEA staff members have been involved in helping Boeing contact our laid-off union members and getting them signed up so they could exercise their priority recall rights under our union’s contracts. In all cases, staff have been reviewing the return-to-work offers to ensure Boeing is offering laid-off members the right pay and benefits and to make sure the return-to-work instructions are clear.
Priority recalls are a less-talked-about, but still important, contract right for SPEEA members at Boeing. They ensure that laid-off workers get a chance to return to their old jobs before Boeing starts hiring new workers off the street.
These latest recalls are separate from the 58 workers who were brought back to work by Boeing after our union first filed grievances and then threatened to take the company to arbitration. In those cases, the union members were laid off even though workers loaned to Boeing by other companies, under Industry Assist agreements, were kept in their jobs, which our union alleges was a violation of our contracts with Boeing.
But at this point, about a third of the SPEEA members who were let go by Boeing in a cost-cutting move this past winter have returned to work.
SPEEA members with questions about the priority recall process can contact their Contract Administrators.