Boeing girds for long strike as gig economy gives workers clout

By Julie Johnsson and Anna Edgerton / Bloomberg

Around Boeing Co.’s vast aircraft manufacturing hub in Seattle, the great belt tightening has begun as the planemaker and its factory workers settle in for a labor dispute that will test the resolve of both sides.

Striking employees received their final Boeing paycheck Thursday, and the company stops paying for their health insurance Sept. 30. Both measures will pinch household finances, typically ratcheting up the pressure and stakes for union negotiators in contract talks to reach an agreement.

But as workers stare down the embattled manufacturer for better pay and benefits, the 33,000 members of IAM District 751 have the full benefit of a tight labor market and gig economy that provides a quick transition into jobs that require few skills and help make ends meet. That gives the union bargaining leverage, potentially frustrating Boeing’s effort to swiftly end a conflict that’s costing it an estimated $100 million each day.

While the battle between one of the world’s largest exporters and its blue-collar workers may look like an uneven fight on its surface, Boeing finds itself in an increasingly untenable situation with its finances so dire that it can ill afford a drawn-out paralysis.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/boeing-girds-for-long-strike-as-gig-economy-gives-workers-clout/