SEATTLE 鈥� At a rally here this month, machinists union vice president Gary Allen addressed a hall full of striking Boeing workers.
鈥淲hen I'm out on the picket line, I ask everybody, what is the strike about to you?,鈥� he said.
Allen didn鈥檛 even have a chance to answer his own question before the machinists in the room interrupted.
鈥淧ension! Pension! Pension!,鈥� they chanted.
Pensions are a major sticking point between Boeing and the union. The machinists want the company to restore the traditional pension plan they lost a decade ago. But Boeing hasn鈥檛 budged.
The strike is now after union members . The union said it's "been in communication with the U.S. Department of Labor in an effort to spearhead getting back to the table." The work stoppage has hobbled production at Boeing鈥檚 airplane factories in the Pacific Northwest, contributing to a for the company.
On some issues, the two sides have moved closer to an agreement. But when it comes to the pension plan, they remain very much at odds.
鈥淒efinitely the loss of that pension is still there right at the heart of this for many,鈥� said Jon Holden, the president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751, after members voted down the last week.
The union says Boeing pushed members to , in part by threatening to move production of new planes elsewhere if they didn鈥檛. The company replaced that pension with a 401(k) retirement plan. A decade later, many workers still feel cheated.
鈥淭he 401(k) program is gambling on our retirement,鈥� said Kat Kinckiner, a union steward who has worked at Boeing for close to 15 years. 鈥淭o take away the pension and not compensate us enough to cover it? It's just another takeaway, and there's nothing unreasonable about wanting it back.鈥�
Boeing is hardly the only company that鈥檚 eliminated traditional pensions, which are increasingly rare, especially in the private sector.
鈥淚t's a very costly and risky benefit to take on,鈥� said Craig Copeland with the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington, D.C.
鈥淭he employee is promised a benefit and the employer must come up with that money to pay for it,鈥� Copeland said. If the company鈥檚 investments don鈥檛 perform well, it鈥檚 still on the hook for pension payments. 鈥淪o therefore, it could push them towards bankruptcy.鈥�
By contrast, 401(k) plans are cheaper and easier for employers. But critics say they push all of the onto workers.
鈥淭here's now a real recognition that workers want both good wages and good pensions,鈥� said Karen Friedman, the executive director of the Pension Rights Center. 鈥淭here's a growing appetite for secure pensions, and I think we're going to see more of it, honestly.鈥�
Lately, more unions have been trying to bargain to get these benefits back. But so far, none of them has succeeded.
鈥淚f they did, they would be kind of turning back history for a lot of different people,鈥� said Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University鈥檚 School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
The United Auto Workers union in a strike last year.
That didn鈥檛 happen. But the union did push the Big Three automakers to . And Wheaton understands why the Boeing machinists union is making the same ask.
鈥淚f you had it for decades and you gave it up in the last negotiations, it's not unreasonable to ask to get it reinstated,鈥� Wheaton said. 鈥淏ut I don't think it's achievable.鈥�
Boeing has improved its offer to the union on wages and other issues, but not on pensions.
The head of the machinists union local, Jon Holden, was asked last week what happens if the impasse continues.
鈥淚f they're not willing to give it, we've got to get something that replaces it and we haven't gone that far,鈥� Holden said. 鈥淪o it does come down to wages. It does come down to the 401(k) plan.鈥�
What Holden is describing looks a lot like the deals that have ended other recent strikes. Boeing might hold the line on pensions. But it would have to pay even more in wages and retirement benefits than it鈥檚 been willing to offer so far.
KUOW's Casey Martin contributed reporting from Seattle, and Joel Rose reported from Washington, D.C.
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