Letter From PDBR Brandon Bryant

Sisters and Brothers,

We have held a successful strike for what will be 53 days come Monday, November the 4th.

By successful, I mean we have held and staffed our lines 24 hours a day, through hot days, chilly days, and wet and rainy days. Your Negotiating Team could not be prouder of you. Thank you.

I also mean that our strike was successful because we have had an increase from Boeing’s original offer to this latest offer: A two-billion-dollar increase in total labor cost (see chart below). We have shown that going on strike for what is necessary, needed, and deserved, can work. Standing together can work. Being united can work. And being a Union can work.

Unheard-of improvements to wages. More company contributions to retirement. Better job security. Larger signing bonus. Better overtime limits and availability. More flexibility in using your time off. You have a guaranteed 4% annual bonus. Lowered healthcare costs. Increased shift differentials. Paid parental leave. This and more are what you struck for, and this and more is what you accomplished.

I and our committee understand that not everyone is 100% satisfied with the gains we achieved. We could not achieve everything that everyone wanted, and that is rarely, if never, the case in negotiations. All your priorities were heard, and all of your priorities were presented and pushed in our talks with the company. A Collective Bargaining Agreement has two signatures at the bottom of it, one is the Union’s, and one is the Employer’s. We can only achieve what the company can agree to. And we have done that, and have gotten them to agree to much, much more than they were agreeable to back in September. We will continue to push them on those principal issues throughout this contract term and will continue that fight on those issues next contract.

Now it is time to lock in and secure those improvements. As the saying goes, you can only get so much milk from a cow. We filled up our buckets, brought in a few extra buckets, and filled those too. Now is the time to use those gains and improve and nourish our lives, and let our Labor, work once again to make more “milk” for this company so we can squeeze them again in 4 years. We have proven to the company that there is no Boeing without the IAM. And it is time to return to our work to help our employer be successful, to hold them accountable to their end of the bargain, and to be the Labor they need to build the safest and highest quality airplanes in the world. We have shown them that a Union standing together can-do great things. Let us build on the opportunity for a strong Union and a company willing to recognize that strength, working together, to also do great things. There is a brighter future ahead. Let us seize this opportunity and move forward together!

In Solidarity,

IAM District W24

Brandon Bryant Will Lukens

PDBR ADBR

And your Negotiation Committee:

Eric Bitney President Local 63

Dan Patterson Vice President Local 63

Dan Bricker Secretary-Treasurer Local 63

John Kleiboeker Recording Secretary Local 63

Jeff Smith Work Transfer Rep and Ex. Board Local 63

Scott Lacey Defense Committee and Conductor/Sentinel Local 63