[Jeff Higgins]

The IAM is far different than most unions, insofar as the skill of its most qualified members. Granted, they do have some very low-level, unskilled jobs covered by that union. Would it surprise some of you here to learn that the entry level union wage in those jobs is still under ten bucks an hour? That a family of four, with the father working for the largest aerospace company on the planet, qualifies for food stamps at those wages?

At the other end of the spectrum are some of the most highly skilled, highly trained mechanics and machinists in the world. Bar none. Some one mentioned a few posts back how they felt it was wrong that the guy designing the part can sometimes make less than the guy making or installing the part. I hear that all the time around here, from our junior engineers. My simple answer to them is to go out to the shops and to try to learn something from these guys. When they even begin to approach the knowledge of our products that these guys have, then maybe they will have something to talk about. Until then they better just shut up and pay attention. The "engineers" that are too proud, too conceited to do that never make good engineers. The ones that realize some of those machinists and mechanics have forgotton more about airplanes than they may ever learn, and swallow their pride to go out and learn something from those guys, will eventually make good engineers.

The saying around here (in regards to our airplanes) is that "every one is a prototype". Every airplane we build is different than the one before or the one after it, even in any given block of "identical" aircraft for the same customer. It is nothing like automotive or similar mass production assemby line work. The amount of training and skill the best guys out there bring to the table vastly exceeds that of many "engineers" in this company. They deserve every penny they make, and then some.

If some of you guys would like to better direct your rightous indignation, you may want to take a look at what our execs (and execs in similar large American companies) make. Their salaries and bonuses are well beyond obscene. Remember what the Daimler Benz CEO said about that when they bought out Chrysler? The CEO of the failing American company was making several times what he was, while running a succesful company. Boeing is no different.

Oh, and I've heard all of the arguments about the entrepeneurs, risking it all to build their companies, and therefore deserving of their rewards. While I very much agree with those sentiments, Boeing and other large corporations are all well beyond that. Our execs are hired hands, just like our mechanics. They come in at no risk to themselves or their net worth. They get the sweetest deal possible; millions in wages and bonuses, with no risk whatsoever. And the disparity in pay between them and the workforce has grown by over tenfold in our lifetimes. They, not the unions, are really at the heart of the problem in corporate America today.