Boeing machinists strike ends, but union should face financial reality

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace workers in Seattle have ended their strike, as members approved a company pay raise offer. CEI labor policy expert Sean Higgins says the union should do better at facing financial reality when it comes to retirement plans.

“The Boeing workers’ strike was brought to an end when the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers agreed to drop its most onerous demand: restoring the company’s defined benefits pension plan. The union either wisely recognized that this was a non-starter for a company on shaky financial ground, or it was just using the pension demand as a bargaining chit all along. Had the pension plan been restored, workers would have simply faced the prospect of losing it yet again should the company face future financial turmoil. Unions should stop viewing 401(k) retirement accounts as inferior alternatives.”