Boeing unions talk tough as strike looms

By Bill Rigby

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing's (BA.N) engineers and production line workers are taking an aggressive stand ahead of contract talks with the plane maker in coming weeks, leaving open the possibility of a strike as the company struggles to get its new 787 Dreamliner into the air.

Leaders of the two main unions, which represent about 47,000 Boeing employees -- or nearly 30 percent of the company's worldwide work force -- said Boeing is in no position to push hard for concessions as it tries to make up for errors in outsourcing work on the 787.

"This is not the time for Boeing to take a hard stance in negotiations," said David White, assistant director of strategic resources at the International Association of Machinists (IAM), Boeing's main blue-collar union, in a conference call with media and Wall Street analysts.

"The company now is faced with continuing 787 program problems and the company cannot afford disruptions by its skilled work force."

Boeing's 787 is at least 14 months behind schedule after a string of production problems, partly caused by its far-flung supplier network, and the company risks losing customers -- and billions of dollars -- if it suffers more delivery delays.

Negotiations between Boeing and the IAM -- which represents about 27,000 current Boeing workers chiefly around Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and Wichita, Kansas -- are set to ramp up on August 21, with a vote among IAM members on contract terms scheduled for September 3. The current three-year IAM contract expires just after midnight on September 4.

If IAM members rejected the contract terms and voted to strike, it would severely hamper Boeing's run-up to a first test flight of the 787, which is now scheduled for the fourth quarter, more than a year after the original target.

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