Union: Boeing Seeking to ‘Dismantle’ Benefits

Shifting Health Care Costs: The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, or SPEEA, is taking the Boeing Co. to binding arbitration over a proposal in which Boeing reportedly would shift as much as $8.2 million of medical costs to engineers and technical workers, the result of upcoming changes being implemented to its employee health care coverage. The group’s executive director, Ray Goforth, characterized Boeing’s move in a statement as a “scheme to dismantle the benefits package” earned by members of the 24,000-member union, which also represents employees at other aerospace and related companies. Boeing is not commenting publicly on the developments, but SPEEA says the cost shifting will disproportionately affect families covered by the Select Network plan who do not presently pay a premium. Under the proposed changes in June, those employees will begin paying $138 a month for family coverage. The controversy surrounding cost shifting comes in the run-up to negotiations scheduled for October between Boeing and SPEEA, which represents about 21,000 Boeing employees in Washington, Kansas, Oregon, Utah and California.