[Rich Lambert]

As a former IAM member (18 years), I can tell you it is a necessary, but not very evil entity. I don't understand this blind hatred of unions. It's business. Boeing tries to maximize profits...IAM members try to maximize profits. It's that simple. There's no good or evil involved. I seem to recall from my manager days that labor is about 8% of the price of an airplane. Parse that out over the 30+ year lifespan of an airframe and it's negligible. As far as off loading work, the price of labor is a small factor in out-sourcing. The disparity in labor rates between the US and virtually anywhere else is such that work will be off loaded no matter what. A lot of times work is off-loaded to countries that buy/will buy airplanes...it's business.

What the media doesn't show...ever, and especially during labor disputes is that the IAM has done a lot of good for Boeing employees and the cost to the flying public has been pennies.

Someone mentioned that due to seniority restraints good employees never rise to the top. Through the union negotiated QTTP (Quality Through Training Program) the company will pay for virtually any training you want/need to get ahead. Every IAM job has a skill set training matrix that allows anyone to acquire the necessary training to advance. QTTP will reimburse college tuition for engineering degrees, tech certificates...whatever. A very creative friend of mine (who incidentally works with Jeff's AOG crew) got the company to foot the bill for water skiing lessons on a private lake...yeah, I know, they'll probably close that loophole pretty soon.

The HSI (Health & Safety Institute) is a union negotiated partnership between mgt & mfg that addresses, you guessed it, health & safety issues. They've done a lot of good things for employees.

Why would anyone want less for your neighbors, friends, and family members? I read somewhere that every Boeing employee supports 3 jobs in the local economy. There's way more to this than the dumb fuchs the media interviews for the news.

I'm not totally unbiased in this. I've been non-represented for the past 12 years, but usually whatever benefits IAM/SPEEA negotiates trickles down to us non-union types...except for the guaranteed pay raises. That'd be sweet.