{"id":5799,"date":"2025-10-03T15:41:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T20:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/03\/hawley-and-sanders-question-boeings-labor-attorney-about-st-louis-strike-2\/"},"modified":"2025-10-03T15:41:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T20:41:06","slug":"hawley-and-sanders-question-boeings-labor-attorney-about-st-louis-strike-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/03\/hawley-and-sanders-question-boeings-labor-attorney-about-st-louis-strike-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawley and Sanders question Boeing\u2019s labor attorney about St. Louis strike"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Missouri Republican U.S. Senator Josh Hawley questions Boeing attorney Scott Mayer in a confirmation hearing for his nomination to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.)<\/p>\n

The nine-week strike at Boeing\u2019s St. Louis-area defense plants is not settled because the company isn\u2019t dealing fairly with the workers, Missouri Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and Vermont Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hawley and Sanders grilled Boeing\u2019s labor attorney, Scott Mayer, about the strike during a <\/span>confirmation hearing on Wednesday<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mayer, Boeing\u2019s chief labor counsel Scott Mayer, was nominated by President Donald Trump to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board, which investigates and resolves labor disputes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got 3,000-plus Missourians who are currently, effectively out of a job,\u201d Hawley said to Mayer during the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing. \u201cThey haven\u2019t had a significant wage increase in years. They need to be able to afford to pay rent, to put food on the table for their families, and to get their health care. I mean, is your company going to do right by these workers?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sanders said the 3,200 striking machinists with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 manufacture state-of-the-art fighter planes. But in some cases, he said, they make as little as $18 an hour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Hawley and Sanders pointed to the exit payouts for the company\u2019s former chief executives Dave Calhoun and Dennis Muilenberg as excessive. If it can afford those payments, they said, Boeing can afford to meet worker demands.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a company which had enough money to provide a $45-million golden parachute to its former CEO Dennis Calhoun, who did not do a particularly good job,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cFive years ago, Boeing had enough money to provide the CEO before that, Mr. Muilenberg, with a $62-million golden parachute.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this week, Sanders spoke with the workers on a Zoom call and sent a letter to <\/span>Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg<\/span><\/a>, saying he believes an offer union members brought to the company last month<\/a> is \u201cvery reasonable.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt includes a fair wage increase, a $10,000 ratification bonus, and a modest increase in contributions to Boeing\u2019s 401(k) plan,\u201d Sanders stated in the letter to Ortberg. \u201cLet\u2019s be clear. What the Machinists in St. Louis are proposing is not radical. It is not, as you called it \u2018a publicity stunt.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sanders said it is a \u201cless generous\u201d contract than the one the company ratified last year with 32,000 Machinists in Washington state that included a 38% pay raise and a $12,000 ratification bonus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The day before the hearing, Boeing issued a statement regarding a failed attempt to negotiate with union leaders with the help of a federal mediator<\/a> on Monday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe union continues to set false expectations with its members,\u201d Boeing said. \u201cWe\u2019ve made it clear we\u2019re ready and willing to discuss proposals within the parameters of our market-leading offer that union leadership has twice endorsed, not modifications to their self-drafted proposal. We\u2019ll stay focused on executing our contingency plan, hiring permanent replacements and supporting our customers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During the hearing, Hawley asked Mayer what he sees as a fair resolution to the dispute. Mayer said he wasn\u2019t serving as a representative to the company at the hearing, nor was he part of the settlement negotiations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know the concept of fairness is an elusive one,\u201d Mayer said. \u201cWhat I will tell you is that the union and the company reached an agreement at the end of July.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Union members voted down that contract and went on strike on Aug. 4<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith 3,000-plus members of residents in my state on strike, unable to work, unable to get health care, while your CEO is getting paid $30-some million,\u201d Hawley said. \u201cFairness may be elusive, but that doesn\u2019t look like fairness to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n <\/i>\n

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n