Please note—this isn’t an attack on unions, it’s just an admission that I don’t understand them.
Yesterday I received from Airport Business via the regular b2b email—you do get those, don’t you?—an Associated Press (AP) story by Mark Baker. The story stated that Boeing is soliciting bids from more than a dozen locations, each eagerly interested in building the new 777X airplane. Each location had asked for the chance to compete.
Following is a direct quote from the AP article: “Boeing had initially offered to build the 777X in Washington State, but had sought concessions from union machinists… The union rejected a proposed contract, leading Boeing to immediately begin talks with other locations.”
This is what I don’t understand. The news is full of stories about the orders Boeing has for the new airplane. The location that builds it will gain untold new jobs, probably for decades to come.
Boeing, you will remember, recently opened a new factory in the Carolinas. Aircraft manufacturers are being wooed by many locations. Building aircraft has become a very competitive industry. Boeing must compete, and price is definitely an important part of the competition.
Frankly, this doesn’t seem to be a great time for unions to be turning down contracts and haggling.
I just don’t understand it.
