Boeing HQ
Friday the 13th has arrived, and the news isn’t good for Boeing. The rank and file of the IAM have authorized a strike, and production will come to a grinding halt today in Seattle and Everett, impacting the 737 MAX and 767F, 777F, and KC-46A assembly lines.
The halt in production, if protracted, will cripple Boeing’s cash position and will delay the company’s hopes of financial recovery by perhaps a year or more. Boeing is already in a cash crunch, and will need to rely on delivering aircraft that are already in inventory, as well as 787s from the non-union and not impacted Charleston facility. Â
The inability to reach an agreement with the IAM reflects the distrust in the current culture on the shop floor, as well as a realization that change cannot be accomplished instantaneously, but rather incrementally when it comes to labor relations and employee satisfaction. Kelly Ortberg was known for a positive culture at Rockwell Collins, and he needs to implement the same type of culture at Boeing. Unfortunately, that will take quite some time to undo the actions of the last 27 years since the fateful acquisition of McDonnell-Douglas that began the cultural deterioration.
 While the strike is the big news, interestingly, with the launch of a private SpaceX capsule, there are now more people in space than ever before, including the two stranded Boeing astronauts at the space station.  Links to today’s key stories follow:
- Boeing machinists rejects contract as 96% vote to strike – Seattle Times
- Union rules set high bar to Boeing US worker strike – AJOT
- Boeing CEO warns workers strike would jeopardize recovery – BNN Bloomberg
- Financial impact of potential Boeing strike – Fox 13
- There have never been more people in space than there are right now – Quartz
The strike is “impacting the 737 MAX …”
Also the production of 737NG-based P-8 and E-7 military aircraft