‘Fight together, win together’: Striking Boeing workers rally in St. Louis

Joshua Arnold, Boeing Defense worker and a union shop steward, attends a rally Wednesday with his children at the IAM Union Hall in Hazelwood. (Photo by Rebecca Rivas/The Missouri Independent)

Joshua Arnold bounced his young daughter on his shoulders, as he and a crowd of Boeing Defense workers yelled, “Stand together, fight together, win together” at a union rally Wednesday in St. Louis.

Arnold and about 3,200 Boeing machinists in the St. Louis area have now been on strike for more than eight weeks, demanding better pay and retirement benefits.

As a strike captain, Arnold works a 12-hour shift on the strike line, and he talks to the people coming in and off their four-hour shifts. 

“There are some folks that are hurting, and there are some folks who found other work,” Arnold said. “But most of the people that I talk to are still fired up, and they’re angry at the way the company is bargaining with us, too. It’s just been blatantly disrespectful.”

That anger was apparent among the crowd of more than 200 people at the Wednesday rally, held at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 Union Hall in Hazelwood.

On Monday, Boeing and union representatives met with a federal mediator, in an effort to find a path to end the strike. 

But both parties issued statements Monday that the negotiations failed. The union said Boeing refused to budge, and the company said union reps came to the table with “unrealistic” expectations. 

“As we have said multiple times, we are open to constructive feedback from the union within the overall economics of our offer, which is at the top of the market for Midwest manufacturing,” according to a statement Boeing issued Monday.

The union said, “The way to end this strike continues to be the sensible pre-ratified offer that was approved by our membership. We are available when the company has an improved offer. Continue to stand strong!”

Last month, workers voted to approve a union-proposed contract, a four-year contract proposal that includes a $10,000 ratification bonus instead of the $4,000 bonus Boeing proposed. It also addresses one of the workers’ biggest concerns of pay raises for top-of-scale members and 401(k) benefits, union leaders said. 

On Monday, the union offered a modified version of the contract, but didn’t give specifics.

Democratic Missouri Sen. Doug Beck of Affton, who attended the rally, said he believes the union’s demands are feasible for Boeing.

“If you see what Boeing does and if you see what these folks do, especially keeping our country safe, you have to put a high priority on that,” Beck said. “A lot of these folks are the highest trained in the country.”

According to a union statement announcing the strike on Aug. 4, its members “assemble and maintain advanced aircraft and weapons systems, including the F-15, F/A-18, and cutting-edge missile and defense technologies.”

Arnold and several workers said Boeing continues to send the message that their employees are expendable. 

“That’s how they view us,” Arnold said. “We’re just a factor of production, no more than a piece of wood or a wrench, and their sole focus is the bottom line, trying to get their product produced for as little as possible.”

After members voted down Boeing’s second offer, the company announced its plan to hire replacement workers. Boeing assembly mechanic Rodney Herd thought people would get scared, but they’re still there. 

“My personal feeling is that the company doesn’t care about us,” he said. “They just want to replace us, even though it takes a long time to acquire the skills we have. It’s a slap in the face to us.”

Now some employees believe the company will try to push strike out into the holidays. 

“They can provide for their families for the holidays, but our health care is gone,” Herd said. “Everything’s gone now.”

Many workers, Herd said, have started to look for permanent work somewhere else. Others have found temporary jobs while the strike continues. 

“The offer we gave them is pretty fair,” Herd said. “They just want to keep saying we’re not worth it.”