SPEEA ""has first-hand experience"" with Boeing safety culture problems

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) union for over 20 technical and safety pilots at Boeing, said it ""has first-hand experience of the kinds of safety-culture problems an expert panel reported on earlier this week."" The union was referring to the scathing report published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which highlighted concerns surrounding Boeing's safety management, deeming it ""inadequate and confusing"". The union said this witness to the FAA testimonials has emerged through its negotiation of new contracts for the technical and safety pilots, with their collective bargaining agreements expiring on March 4, 2024. ""Boeing’s last proposal is to pay the Tech and Safety pilots 28.6% less than the Boeing corporate pilots who chauffeur executives around,"" said SPEEA executive director Ray Goforth.  ""With the entire world focused on the Boeing safety culture, it was truly startling to see how differently Boeing leadership values the safe operation of its products versus the comfort of executives."" A Boeing spokesperson said: ""We are disappointed that the union is not bargaining in good faith. Their most recent proposal is significantly higher than the original economic offer they made when bargaining began."" SPEAA added that the talks have turned sour with negotiators apparently not turning up for the last two scheduled bargaining sessions. The union also noted that Boeing negotiators had requested it to sign a non-disclosure agreement ""so that the union couldn't tell its members how much they were being underpaid compared to their peers."" SPEEA declined the request and Goforth had labelled the request as ""weird"". The Boeing spokesperson added: ""Going backwards does not signal a good faith attempt to reach a deal, and we have filed an unfair labour practice charge with the National Labour Relations Board to address the union’s bad faith bargaining. Our goal remains to reach an agreement."" Goforth added: ""Boeing has systematically hollowed out the SPEEA pilot instructors unit, replacing valued Boeing expertise with contractors. The resulting degradation in expert advice given to Boeing’s airline customers is another example of the safety-culture problem highlighted by the FAA."" Boeing will begin talks on March 8, 2024, with the International Association of Machinists on a new contract for more than 32,000 production workers based in the US Pacific Northwest.