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How is the Negotiation Team organized and what areas are they focused on?
The Negotiation Team is comprised of all 21 of the primary and alternate members elected by the Bargaining Unit Councils in March. (The Bargaining Unit Councils, or BUCs, are comprised of all the SPEEA Council Reps who represent members of both the Prof and the Tech bargaining unit; the Profs and the Techs each have their own BUC.)
Various members of the Prof and Tech Negotiation Teams meet in subteams that cover four areas: Compensation, Benefits, Employee Relations and Workforce. Compensation comprises anything monetary including wages and retirement. Benefits include medical, dental and vision benefits. Employee Relations discusses items like remote and hybrid work and the Ed Wells Partnership. Finally, Workforce is responsible for contract language surrounding retention and layoffs.
Is the Negotiation Team aware of the work movement concerns of members? The recent move of 787 work to South Carolina, plus movement of work to India, Brazil, Poland and other places is causing significant concern.
The Team fully understands that it's a concern. We are discussing your outsourcing concerns with SPEEA staff. As more details emerge about specific work movements, we strongly encourage all members to reach out to SPEEA staff.
What does the Negotiation Team see as the key milestones?
Your Negotiation Team has diligently reviewed the data from last year's Negotiation Prep Committee surveys and is reviewing and establishing the critical items to bring forward in negotiations. We will work through these items with Boeing. Your visible support during these efforts does matter and does improve our negotiation position at the table. Look for Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings in your area to get involved and learn more.
Are the new benefits I suggested in the survey or my other high-priority contract ideas still on the table, even if I don't see them in the "Contract Priorities"?
Absolutely! A bargaining platform (priorities) is a collection of high-level ideas, concepts and objectives identified by our union's membership as we enter negotiations with the company. Specific details of any concept or benefit will be discussed much later.
(For more on this topic, please refer to SPEEA President Andrew Sherman's column in the June edition of SPEEA Spotlite magazine.) The Negotiation Team is still determining our bargaining proposal. The situation remains fluid, and we have not limited the totality of items open for discussion with the company.
How will we know what a good contract looks like?
That’s a tough question. Every individual member will at some point have to decide if the presented offer is good enough. Only you as an individual member can decide that for yourself.
To help you with that assessment, the Prof and Tech Negotiation Team and the Prof and Tech Bargaining Unit Councils may each provide their recommendations based on the information available at the time. (The Bargaining Unit Councils, or BUCs, are comprised of all the SPEEA Council Reps who represent members of the Prof and the Tech bargaining units.)
How will the Negotiation Team assess whether to recommend the company’s offer?
The Negotiation Team members take their roles very seriously. We fully understand the level of impact we will have on our members’ lives for years to come. The Team will make recommendations based on all the available information we have at the time.