The Boeing Strike in Retrospect

November 4th marks the date that the 33,000 strong strike against Boeing came to an end after almost 2 months of being on the picket line. The strike that started on September 13th between Boeing and the International International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) IAM initially had the overwhelming support of the workers involved. The same enthusiasm was not shared by union leadership in regards to a yes on their strike vote. The president of District 751 of the IAM was quoted as saying "We recommended acceptance because we can’t guarantee we can achieve more in a strike". Considering the fact that Boeing’s initial offer was for a 25% raise over the life of the four year contract, and that the final agreement has the GWI increase as being at 38%-yes we can confirm workers did get a better deal from striking. The sorry state that most organized labor is in within the United States has most of its current union leadership in agreeance with the perspective above. Most trade union leaders are either totally won over to the capitalist cause rejecting any notion that open opposition, or struggle is a requirement on the path forward. Or in other scenarios leadership has been so thoroughly beaten down over time that they would rather accept a paltry contract thats guaranteed versus fighting for a "loftier" goal that entails the risk of failing. Both of these attitudes are a cancer within the labor movement, and will have to be struggled against in the time to come.

Years of nonexistent raises, the removal of workers pension plan in 2014, and the company being mismanaged from top to bottom led those workers to self help. The most recent agreement had 80% of the eligible workers voting but only 59% voted to accept the contract. This was not the same unanimity that existed voting to strike as there was to vote yes on this agreement. While some of the initial demands were met including an increase to wages, and a reigning in on mandatory overtime a sizeable portion of workers wanted to continue to strike. From reading interviews with workers online and from speaking to them on the physical picket line the desire to fight for getting the pension back was a key sticking point for many workers at Boeing. Defined benefit plans aka pensions are a retirement benefit that most private sector workers do not have the "luxury" of acquiring. The current amount of private sector workers in the United States that have a pension plan is 8% of the workforce vs 39% in 1980. The obvious benefit of a pension plan for the worker is the fact that if they have to contribute anything at all to their retirement, it is an incredibly small portion of their wages. The employer is the one investing, and paying out for the majority of this retirement. In capitals thirst for accumulation any cost that does not directly tie into capitals ability to grow and reproduce itself is seen as superfluous. Boeing’s desire to not budge on the issue of pensions is easily understood from capitals viewpoint. Besides the potential for the retirement to act as a pair of golden handcuffs-a benefit so good that workers either fall in line or stay at the company with an ever increasing diminishment of wages or working conditions-there is no other benefit to the company for having to pay for this. Bean counters are compelled to cut cost on everything from toilet paper, tools, spare parts, and even retirements because of this anarchy of production. In a world where nothing escapes the balance book, lower costs can be what determines who lives and dies on the market.

Economists, accountants, and politicians everywhere are discussing the economic impact of the strike. An impact that for the bourgeoisie and their syncophants is forever a negative one that most often is juxtaposed against the "national interests". For us however the negative impact that is derived from the strike is actually a positive one, and one that effectively allows workers to have an influence over their day to day working conditions. Struggling against and weakening the enemy class-the bourgeoisie-must be able to actually impact the economic situation that these groups find themselves within and disruption to the economy through striking is an incredibly valuable tool in this battle between classes. The Anderson Economic Group has the total cost to Boeing at around $6.5 billion, and the cost for the US economy as a whole at $11.5 billion. The loss in money to the aerospace giant is no small amount, and especially since it is coming after almost $40 billion dollars in costs after Boeing’s 2 fatal crashes, will have lingering effects until the end of 2025 at least. Contradictions plague class society and this strike amongst others have brought many of these problems to the forefront of workers at Boeing. In October, Boeing announced that they would be laying off 17,000 of their global workforce. There is not enough information at this time to see what the breakdown of who is actually going to be laid off. Union vs non union workers and actually at this time Boeing says that the strike is not the primary motivator for these cost cutting endeavours. One suspects that at this moment this may be a way of staying in the good graces of the workers at these facilities, but either way it puts a spotlight on the very contradiction between capital and labor. Workers are expected to accept a diminution of their wages, benefits, and an increase in laboring time, and if they successfully wage a struggle against these problems they or their cohorts will be punished with the firing of these same workers.

All in all in studying the ongoing struggle at Boeing we cannot help but see a confirmation of our theses. The iron laws of accumulation force firms to attempt to bleed workers dry, and united class action is the only effective bulwark against this attack from the capitalist class. One thing that the IAM leadership is correct about is the fact that when workers in one sector or industry struggle and win a higher standard of living within class society other workers can use that as either moral or actual leverage in their fight against the bourgeois assaults. This increase in wages, and defense of overtime production can be seen as a "win" by some within the labor movement. While at a certain level this is true this win within class society is temporary and Boeing along with every other firm in the capitalist market is compelled to undo time and time again by different methods what "wins" are extracted out of them. We can never forget that with private property class society segments an ever increasing amount of producers against an ever smaller group of accumulators. A comrade had a conversation with a local labor leader within the IAM at the union hall during the strike. The local leader continuously said that this fight was IAM workers alone, and that he "didn’t want any trouble from outsiders". The real and serious trouble is the one calling from inside the house. A contradiction in interests between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. It will only be by rebuilding the labor movement, and a united class front led by the International Communist Party that this phone will stop ringing.