Jonathan_Oliver

Russ,

Once again, please make an effort to differentiate Textron from Textron Aviation. Those two are simply not the same. Textron does not employ any bargained employees. However, multiple business units, which function as wholly owned subsidiaries, do. Textron Aviation and Bell Textron, as well as Textron Systems’ Lycoming operating unit, do. I have no doubt that others may as well. However, by failing to differentiate these companies, you do the employees of those companies a disservice.

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m11

Another industry that’ll end up in China before long, then. With Boeing looking increasingly fragile, there won’t be much of an aviation industry left in the US … just like the (heavily unionised) auto industry.
26%… seriously?! Time to wake up, people…

dncliff141

Can anyone else spell “greed”?

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kent.misegades

The solution is simple. Move to union-free states of the Southeast. What Boeing is gradually doing. Unions do not fit the hard-working, independent character of a true Southern man, why they are not welcome down here.

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Aviatrexx

Greed? On whose part? Both parties to a contract negotiation are out to make the best deal they can get for their side. Apparently, the union negotiators took Textron’s tender back to their members, who vehemently disagreed. Lather, rinse, repeat, until both hands look the same.

Aviatrexx

“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” H. L. Mencken

While I understand your fondness for the Southeast, no Chamber of Commerce bumper-sticker solution is simple, or even feasible. Apparently, you have no idea how many “hard-working, independent” people in your home state are union members. And did you really intend to evoke the lyrics of Neil Young’s song? Hardly the best endorsement of an enlightened environment to entice corporate relocation.

T.V

26% over 4 years sounds good at face value, but the way things have been going the past few years, it seems more like keeping up with cost of living. Barely any more. Not sure if it’s worth striking over though, I doubt machinists in general have options for reliably large raises in the US, we have outsourced almost the entire industry.

LetMeFly17

Most of the problems on the 787 have come from the non-union plant in the southeast. That includes when there was still a line in Everett.

Bill_Miles

I went through a strike at Cessna many years ago, when as a salaried employee we were expected to help finish airplanes that were getting ready for delivery. I wouldn’t have bought one of those airplanes.

julienav8

Just to be clear, most of the workers concerned aren’t actually machinists. The full name of the union they are represented by is the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. (IAMAW) They are affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

Most of these workers are in-house trained fabrication and assembly tradesmen rather than “machinists”. That’s just a name that refers to their union.

rniles

I don’t think any of our readers thought we were talking about the folks building golf carts but I’ll try to do better.

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Jonathan_Oliver

Fair, Russ. However, your readers might think you were talking about the folks building helicopters in Texas, which you were not. Often, Bell Textron gets associated with Textron Aviation in the media, and while they do ultimately share an owner (and stock ticker), they have very different cultures, different unions, different leadership, and different ways of doing a very similar job. It was especially pertinent in the previous article describing Textron Aviation’s SMS, as Bell has had an SMS for around half-a-decade.

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rniles

I will make the distinction in future. Thanks.