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 WICHITA, KS - With membership rising and pressure increasing,
management at Spirit AeroSystems today presented a new and improved contract offer to 783 engineers represented by the Society of Professional
Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001.
If ratified by a union member vote, the new 3 ½-year contract will provide a 3 percent bonus,
annual salary increases and ensure engineers are compensated for all overtime hours above the regular 40-hour workweek. Employees will see medical premiums increase from 10 to 15
percent, for the life of the contract.
Union negotiators are unanimously recommending engineers accept the offer. Details and a
timeline for the union are being determined by the SPEEA Negotiation Team.
"It was very tense for a time at the table today," said Bob Brewer, SPEEA Midwest director.
"But, the company saw the increase in membership and they listened. In the end, we worked together to reach this tentative agreement."
Key items in the agreement include:·
- Guaranteed 3% bonus in 2010.
- Guaranteed minimum increases in 2011 and 2012, along with increases from market salary pools with no caps.
- Bonuses of 5 to 10 percent in 2011 and 6 to 12 percent in the final two years of the agreement based on Spirit meeting market targets.
- All hours worked above 40 in a week are compensated.·
- Regular employees have priority over contract labor during layoffs and shortened work weeks.
A federal mediator was called in for this week's third round of Main Table negotiations. SPEEA
members rejected two previous offers by 91 and 93 percent. The most recent vote in August included a request for strike authorization which was approved by 92 percent of union members.
Since negotiations started June 9, union membership among engineers increased from about 29 percent to 58 percent of represented employees. Last week, AFL-CIO President Richard
Trumka offered his support to Wichita engineers. This week, union members leafleted Spirit facilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Wichita engineers also organized leafleting at a Spirit facility in
Prestwick, Scotland and by members of a fellow IFPTE Local at Spirit's parent company Onex in Toronto, Canada.
A local of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), SPEEA represents 24,900 aerospace professionals at The Boeing Company, Spirit
AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas; Triumph Composite Systems, Inc., in Spokane, Wash., and BAE Systems, Inc., in Irving, Texas.
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