Dear Members,
After 3 meetings that W24 and Local 63 have held to explain and answer questions
about the new contract proposal, there are a few things that I want to be sure to make
clear and address:
A Tentative Agreement is just that, tentative. It represents that your bargaining
committee has come to the end of bargaining over every issue that you, the
membership, has brought forward to your bargaining committee to address with the
Company and the result is an agreement that, now has to go before our membership
for a vote. In negotiations, I always start by notifying the employer that we are at the
table to come to an agreement, but that everything we tentatively agree to at the table is
subject to ratification by our members. We did that on March 8 when we first met with
the company, and we reiterated that when we came to the end of bargaining on
September 8th . This proposal is now in your hands to make the final decision.
Your bargaining committee has recommended acceptance of this proposal. We have
secured all that we could through negotiation, short of a strike. We believe that a strike
might not guarantee a better outcome. However, the decision ultimately lies with you,
and we will support and respect whatever choice you make as a Union.
To assist you in making an informed decision, we have made the full contract proposal
available on our website. Please visit ourfutureourfight2024.com and click on the
"Contract 2024" tab to review the complete document, including all edits, Letters of
Understanding, and Memorandums of Agreement. If you need more information, please
feel free to attend any of the upcoming information meetings Tuesday or Wednesday
this week, (Sheetmetal Hall, 2379 NE 178th Ave, Portland, 6:30am, 11:30 am, 3 pm) or get
a hold of your steward or committee member to get your question to me. I have asked
BR Will Lukens, Chief Steward Dan Patterson, Jeff Smith, and Dan Bricker (all were
your representatives in this Contract negotiations) to be at Boeing on Tuesday and
Wednesday, to be in-person to answer questions and provide the necessary information
you may need in order to make a decision on Thursday.
I truly believe, that it is only because of the strength and solidarity you have shown over
the past few months, and the powerful history you have shown time and time again to
this company, that we were able to gain as much as was possible in this proposal, at
this time. Because of you, we were able to capture gains and increases that lay out a
path for a better today and a better future. And now the decision is yours.
This vote is scheduled for Thursday, September 12th . This will be held at the same
location as our Contract Information meetings – Sheetmetal Hall, Local 16 at 2379 NE
178th Ave, Portland – between 6:30 am and 5:00 pm. If the membership chooses to
strike, we will support you and work to get back into bargaining to resolve the
differences. We will continue to back, support, and represent our membership, day in
and day out.
Our decision on whether to recommend a strike or to recommend acceptance of the
contract carried the weight of 33,000 people including every one of our Portland
members and their families. This was not a recommendation, that we took lightly. You
are and have always been at the center of this and every decision.Â
The goal has been to achieve the best possible improvements and present them to you.
The decision to accept or reject the proposal is now rightfully in your hands. This is a
challenging and stressful time for everyone, and I ask that we continue to show each
other respect and unity. By standing together, we are stronger as a Union, and whatever
decision is made will be the direction we all follow.
In Solidarity,
Brandon Bryant
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