The Boeing deal was a perfect example of corporate extortion. When they get a $9B tax break, who do you suppose makes up the revenue shortfall that results come next legislative session?
Did you notice how quickly the Democratic Governor and Legislature opened our purse? They did not want those high paying union jobs leaving the State, as they rely heavily on union contributions to finance their elections.
Rev, I doubt the union was jumping up and down with support for the Governor that kind of hung them out to dry. On the flip side, what happens if he does nothing and Boeing leaves. Then everyone bitches that Boeing left, because the Governor refused to work with them to make Washington a more hospitable place to do business. I find it very interesting that you seem to find blame with the sides being extorted. It seems that maybe you choose sides first and the argument second. Be sure to let us know the next time labor money swings an election, 1/66th is such a small portion that its impact is minimal. Its enough to get politicians to pretend to listen and care.
FleaFlickr, I enjoyed your post. I think you bring up some very valid points when it comes to the lack of benefits of your representation as it pertains to compensation. The only question I have is would you be an easier target for cuts without representation.
Out of 132 votes in the WA House and Senate, there were only 13 votes against the Boeing tax break. All of the legislators that voted for it and the governor that signed it thought $8.7BB over 27 years was worth keeping 54-56,000 jobs in WA. The union drew up the contract and urged the workers to vote for it, so if anybody hung the workers out to dry it was them. They may think they got a sh!tty deal, but they still have jobs.
As for the current labor strife on the docks, the PMA gave the ILWU everything they were asking for. It's time for the workers to vote on it and get back to work because they're not gonna get a better deal.
You don't think the fear of losing Boeing and what that would do to the political capital of those politicians had any thing to do with those vote totals. I think letting corporations comparison shop for tax breaks is a slippery slope. Then 9 months later they move 2000 engineering jobs anyway. I guess $8.7B wasn't enough for them to actually keep their word. The union didn't draw up that deal it was force fed to them by the company. They voted it down once by a 40% margin. The union did not want to vote on it again. Then the governor put the full court press on them in concert with community pressure to vote on the proposal again. It passed by 2% on fear, but like you say they still have their jobs.
If the PMA gave the ILWU everything they were asking for wouldn't they have had a deal? I outlined the arbitrator issue above. That was the only thing standing in the way of a deal. So why would PMA let all that cargo sit while they layed over shifts for ILWU appointed arbitraitor David Miller? Unless he was worth it.
The common denominator between Boeing and this contract dispute with the PMA is the PR giant Burson-Marsteller. They tried to use a similar game plan by creating a crisis, and controlling the narrative. To create pressure from the public and the government to accept a deal that would damage the long term future of the ILWU. Did they succeed? It looks like there is a tentative agreement on a contract, we'll have to read it and see. It sounds like they agreed to a change in the arbitration process. Its a shame that couldn't have happened sooner.
Another point of information. The PMA is set up so that every member company has a vote on the process. There are a few employers that have been gaming the system through acquisition. In the past acquisitions were absorbed into the parent company. A few of the larger companies learned that if they kept acquisitions as a subsidiary they could keep that extra vote. It has led to 2 or 3 companies being able to dictate the direction of the association. Many of the other companies were not happy, some broke ranks and worked anyway. This resulted in some heavy fines for member companies that did not follow the directive.
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