Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 2001, AFL-CIO, CLC • www.speea.org

Benefi ts Q&A – P2

Guest editorial – P3

Representing aerospace professionals with competence, integrity and action

JRC New deadline – P4

September 18, 2009 / No. 2090

WEU – Spirit negotiations resume

Richard Trumka

SPEEA and Boeing to continue monitoring drinking water

After testing and working with The Boeing Company to address mem-ber concerns about drinking water

at Puget Sound IDS facilities, SPEEA and the company recently agreed to jointly monitor fountains and continue testing.  Independent testing by SPEEA and the company resulted in upgrades, some clo-sures and some filters being changed. Spot testing of fountains that remain open show results were within acceptable ranges for normally tested items. The drinking water situation was first raised by SPEEA members in Kent but was echoed by other members at Puget Sound IDS sites. Members formed an ad hoc committee to work the issue inter-nally and with the company. Their work resulted in SPEEA and Boeing testing water from the fountains and then work-

Let your imaginationLet your imagination soar at SPEEA DayJoin us for SPEEA Day at the Museum of Flight, Seattle. Members and their families receive free admission during museum hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 24. A new exhibit, a guest speaker and Area Rep recognition are a few good reasons to go. We’ll see you there!

Trumka supports WEU, calls Spirit tactics ‘deplorable’

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By Bill DugovichSPEEA Communications Director

WICHITA – In one of his first actions as the new president of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka put the muscle of

the world’s most powerful labor organization behind efforts to secure a fair contract for 784 engineers at Spirit AeroSystems.The Wichita Engineering Unit (WEU) team returns to Main Table negotiations with Spirit AeroSystems and a federal mediator Tuesday (Sept. 22). In a letter to union members and Spirit manage-ment, Trumka called Spirit management’s efforts to require four hours of free labor before paying overtime as well as increases to medical premiums “deplorable.” “If Spirit management continues to push takeaways, rejects union counterproposals and forces a work stoppage, you will not be alone,” Trumka wrote. “No union member is ever alone.”

A recent scientific poll reinforced the overwhelming rejection of Spirit’s two contract offers. The survey shows strong disagreement with management’s intent to force engineers to accept a regressive contract. Results from the polling will be used by the WEU Negotiation Team to support its counterproposal.“The support of the AFL-CIO is greatly appreci-ated,” said Bob Brewer, SPEEA Midwest direc-tor. “We continue to hope management makes the movements necessary to provide a new offer that respects our contributions to Spirit.”Engineers rejected the first Spirit offer by 91% and a second offer by 93%. As part of the vote on the sec-ond offer, 92% of the engineers voted to give WEU negotiators authority to call a strike.Support continues to grow – more than 54% of the

Spirit engineers are SPEEA members.“Nobody wants a strike,” said Matthew Joyce, vice-chair of the WEU Negotiation Team. “Every new member gets us closer to a fair contract without a work stoppage.”

ing jointly to improve drinking fountains in Kent and at the Developmental Center.Employees can now help monitor the drink-ing fountains. If you have questions regard-ing water from a fountain, notify Boeing’s Site Services Dispatch at (253) 773-1111.

SPEEA encourages employees to ask for additional testing, filter replacement or water fountain maintenance. If the company is unable to respond in a timely manner, con-tact your SPEEA contract administrator for assistance.

SEATTLE HALL15205 52nd Ave S • Seattle, WA 98188

M-Th, 8 am to 6 pm • Fri, 8 am to 4:30 pmPhone: (206) 433-0991

EVERETT HALL2414 106th St. SWEverett, WA 98204

M-F, 8 am to 4:30 pmPhone: (425) 355-2883

WICHITA HALL973 S Glendale St • Wichita, KS 67218

M-Th, 8:30 am to 5 pm • Fri, 8 am to 4:30 pmPhone: (316) 682-0262

President Cynthia Cole

Executive DirectorRay Goforth

Executive BoardJimmie Mathis TreasurerBill Hartig SecretaryWalt Ditlefsen NW Regional VPRyan Rule NW Regional VPLarry Marrell NW Regional VPEarl Carter MW Regional VP

SPEEA Council OfficersJoel Funfar ChairRenee Jarvi TreasurerRebekah Arnold Secretary

Midwest Regional Council OfficersDebbie Logsdon ChairMatthew Joyce TreasurerKen Frazier Secretary

Northwest Regional Council OfficersRoger Pullman ChairMichael Hochberg TreasurerCarrie Rule Secretary

SPEEA PublicationsBill Dugovich Communications DirectorLori Dupuis Graphic DesignerRich Kremnetz Printing/Mail ManagerKaren McLean Publications Editor

speea@speea.orgwww.speea.org

2 • SPEEA NEWS /September 18, 2009 / No. 2090

Generics and COBRA rates raise questionsMembers asked recently about the following benefit issues. SPEEA Benefits Director Matt Kempf, CFP®, provided the following answers which may help you or other members who want to know.

Reduced COBRA ratesYou may have heard about The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which includes a subsidy for reducing COBRA health insurance rates. This could save hundreds of dollars on insurance premiums for people with layoff notices.To be eligible, you must be involuntarily separated (laid off or terminated) between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009.To benefit for the reduced rate, you must apply – this is not automatic. More details are at: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/cobra.html. To find out if you are eligible, call Boeing’s Total Access.You may not be eligible if you are:

• Over age 55 with 10-plus years of service (eligible for early retiree medical).

• Older than 65.• Eligible for coverage under your

spouse’s plan.• Making more than the income

thresholds established by the IRS.

Brand-name vs. generic As of July 1, brand-name prescription drugs will cost more if a chemically equivalent generic is available. This applies to both retail pharmacy and mail service. Even if the brand-name is prescribed by your doc-tor, you will pay the cost difference. The program only applies to chemically equivalent generics, meaning it’s the exact same active ingredient and has met the FDA’s standards for efficacy and duration (dosage form). What makes it a generic is that the patent has expired. The program does not apply to therapeuti-cally equivalent generics. Therapeutically equivalent generics are “similar” in thera-peutic class to their name brand coun-terparts, but since they do not contain the exact same chemical, therapeutically equivalent generics can work differently with your body. Whether the drug is a generic or a name brand, all drugs contain fillers, binders, sealants and dyes. A small percent of the U.S. (less than 0.4%) are allergic to a binder, dye, sealant or filler in drugs. If you are one of these people, please have your doctor submit a coverage review to the drug administrator.

Area Rep drawing winnersWinner Gordon Allen (left), an Area Rep in the Developmental Center, Seattle, chose a SPEEA thumb drive for a prize. Paul Gillette (right), Area Rep from the Duwamish, Seattle, won a SPEEA laptop bag in the Area Rep survey drawing.

More Area Rep survey drawing winners

Congratulations to the following win-ners in the SPEEA Area Rep survey draw-ing. They are among the hundreds who responded to the online survey spon-sored by the Action and Communication Taskforce and the Leadership Development and Training (LDT) committee.The deadline was Sept. 16. The final drawing winners will be announced in the next SPEEA News.• Debora Proctor I-2 (Irving, Texas)• Joe Chapman S-4 (Wichita, Kan.)

• Craig Buckham E-4 (Everett, Wash.)

• Paul Gillette D-4 (DC/Seattle, Wash.)• Marty Neubauer P-2 (Plant II/

Seattle, Wash.)• Randal Bolinger S-1 (Wichita, Kan.)• Kevin Mjor A-10 (Auburn, Wash.)• Paul Eathorne K-9 (Kent, Wash.)• Monte Wright E-13 (Everett, Wash.)• Lynn Reynolds A-50 (Auburn, Wash.)

BenefitsBenefits

UPCOMING EVENTS

See online calendar at www.speea.org for details

SPEEA NEWS /September 18, 2009 / No. 2090 • 3

Guest editorialGuest editorial

What if this frog can’t jump?By Bob WeissSPEEA Council Rep

I have heard about drastic head count reductions going on in the engineer-ing ranks at Boeing. I can see where

my own skill code is going to be at 46% of its current headcount in the coming months. This is occurring while there still is no shortage of work to do. When I think about this action, it reminds me of a joke we used to tell when I was growing up. A biologist has a trained frog and a scale on his lab bench. He sets the frog at the end of the scale and commands: “Jump frog!” The frog makes several jumps of about 36 inches. Then the biologist cuts off a front leg and commands: “Jump frog.” The lengths are recorded and the aver-age is 24 inches. The second front leg is cut off, the commands are given and the averages are 12-inch jumps. Next, a hind leg of the frog is cut off and the process is continued, resulting in a 4-inch average. The final leg is cut off and the command is given. The biolo-gist repeats the command for a while and the frog does not budge. Finally he writes on his data table: “Cut off fourth leg and frog goes deaf.” This appears to me to be what is going on in Boeing offices in Chicago. Boeing is cutting engineering staff in a gamble that that the company will still be able to perform. I wonder how many legs Boeing will cut off of the frog before they realize it just can’t jump on command like it used to do.

SPEEA supports United Way in two statesFrom Wichita to Everett, SPEEA members attended campaign kick-off events for the United Way. Shown above: Members at the Spirit of Snohomish County breakfast. Bob Rommel, assistant executive director for SPEEA, presented the ‘Friend of Labor’ award to Toni Bohan (center), director of SEIU 925 (Service Employees International Union). In Wichita, speakers at the Labor 2009 United Way campaign kickoff luncheon gave an update on the Laid-Off Workers’ Center.

Northwest Council actions – Sept. 10At their regular monthly meeting, the Northwest Council:Recognized new Council Representatives:• Carolyn Wilson – Everett E-7• Bryan Th omas – Everett E-21

Voted on: • NW09-038 Seattle Chapter APRI

Banquet Bronze Sponsorship.  Th is motion passed. 

Boeing retirement process overview

Wednesday, Oct. 14 - SPEEA EverettRSVP: (425) 355-2883

Wednesday, Nov. 4 - SPEEA SeattleRSVP: (206) 433-0991

(Same time in both locations - 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.)

Financial planning 101

Tuesday, Oct. 20 – SPEEA Seattle (5 p.m.)Thursday, Oct. 22 – SPEEA Everett (4:30 p.m.)RSVP to the hall where you plan to attend

or e-mail speea@speea.org

SPEEA Day at the Museum of Flight Seattle

Saturday, Oct. 24 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Free admission for SPEEA members/family

See www.museumofflight.org.

WichitaSPEEA Family Fall Festival

Saturday, Oct. 17 - O.J. Watson Park (3 to 6:30 p.m.)

Free barbecue, activities for the kids and raffle prizes

RSVP by Oct. 12 - call (316) 682-0262(Organized by the SPEEA Midwest

Membership Activities Committee (MAC))

Labor Day picnic draws hundreds

SEATTLE – Despite a day threatened by rain, more than 600 turned out for the annual Labor Day picnic Sept. 7,

including many SPEEA volunteers.SPEEA Council Rep Roger Aisaka brought his daughter, Kohana, 10. Together, they worked the kid games at the SPEEA table and handed out prizes for the bean bag toss. Other SPEEA volunteers include Council Reps Joel Funfar, Rick Hoffman, Brent McFarlane, Keith Neal, and staff, includ-ing Frank Guglielmo, Stan Sorscher and Jessica Bonebright, who organized SPEEA’s donation of ice cream and popcorn. The Martin Luther King County Labor Council hosts the annual picnic.Thanks to volunteers, the Puget Sound Labor Agency (PSLA) raised more than $4,200 in raffle ticket donations, a record number. About 1,700 tickets (a dollar each) were sold at the picnic. In past years, the raffle tickets added up to about $3,000, according to PSLA. PSLA is the community service branch of the Martin Luther King and Snohomish County Labor Councils. PSLA helps union and com-munity members in need through a food bank, emergency assistance with housing and utility bills, donations of household goods and portable wheelchair ramps. PSLA operates the SPEEA Cares fund, as well, with member donations helping fellow mem-bers in need with one-time funding for bills.

Winning SPEEA tickets in PSLA raffle Congratulations to Rod Bonebright, Tony Hickerson, Dave Hunter, John Klym, Chuck Massie, Keith Neal and Dan Sergent. They bought Labor Day raffle tickets through SPEEA.

Family ‘history’ sparks union ties

Morley

WICHITA – Mitchell Morley joined SPEEA almost as soon as he went to work at Spirit

AeroSystems. He wanted to because of his mother.“I knew, based on my family, that as soon as I could get in, I would join right away,” Morley said. He saw firsthand the value of a union when his mother fell at work and broke her back. She was fired for not returning to work even though her doctor said she needed more surgery before she could do her job.A company-assigned doctor, however, said she was fit for work. Her union negoti-ated with the company to rescind the termination and allow her to retire early because of her medical condition.“This could have affected her livelihood,” Morley said. His family also knows someone who lost his job due to downsizing just before he was set to retire. The union helped him retire instead of being laid off.

“It just took a story or two like this to make me think what would happen without a union,” Morley said.Morley graduated with a degree in aerospace engineering with a minor in mathematics from the University of Kansas in 2007. He’s also a licensed pilot. At Spirit, he works as a structural analysis engineer in propulsion structures and systems.At SPEEA, he’s active in the Young Professionals committee, which built an award-winning float for last year’s Veteran’s Day parade. He signed up this spring to be a Council Rep in his area and has gone on to become one of the top recruiters of new members.“We need to take the face of the union to a younger crowd,” he said. “We need to let people know belonging to a union is a good thing.”

Week of September 21, 2009Monday, Sept. 21 5:00 p.m. SPEEA Legislative & Public Aff airsTuesday, Sept. 22 6:00 p.m. SPEEA Governing Documents Sub-CmteWednesday Sept. 23 4:30 p.m. MW Membership Activities

Week of September 28, 2009Tuesday, Sept. 29 6:00 p.m. SPEEA Governing Documents Sub-Cmte

Week of October 5, 2009Tuesday, Oct. 6 6:00 p.m. SPEEA Governing Documents Sub-cmteThursday, Oct. 8 5:00 p.m. SPEEA Council

Week of September 21, 2009Monday, Sept. 21 3:00 p.m. SPEEA Legislative & Public Aff airsTuesday, Sept. 22 4:00 p.m. SPEEA Governing Documents Sub-CmteTuesday, Sept. 22 5:00 p.m. Women’s Advocacy CommitteeThursday, Sept. 24 5:00 p.m. Labor Delegates

Week of September 28, 2009Monday, Sept. 28 5:00 p.m. FacilitiesMonday, Sept. 28 5:00 p.m. NW Legislative & Public Aff airsTuesday, Sept. 29 4:00 p.m. SPEEA Governing Documents Sub-CmteThursday, Oct. 1 4:00 p.m. Executive Board

Week of October 5, 2009Tuesday, Oct. 6 4:00 p.m. SPEEA Governing Documents Sub-cmteTuesday, Oct. 6 5:00 p.m. Leadership Development & TrainingWednesday, Oct. 7 4:30 p.m. ACT CommitteeWednesday, Oct. 7 5:00 p.m. Health & WellnessThursday, Oct. 8 3:00 p.m. SPEEA Council

W k f S b

M I D W E S T M E E T I N G S ( A L L T I M E S C D T )

k f S b

NORTHWEST MEETINGS (ALL TIMES PDT )

This newsletter is approved for posting on SPEEA Bulletin Boards

UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULES

4 • SPEEA NEWS /September 18, 2009 / No. 2090

Community banquet features national speakers

New deadline for Judicial Review Committee (JRC)

If you were considering applying for the Judicial Review Committee, the new deadline is Tuesday, Sept. 29.

The JRC ensures a democratic process is followed for appeals regarding charges against SPEEA. That’s why it takes some-one who is active in SPEEA (for at least two of the past five years) who is not cur-rently in an elected role such as Council Rep or Executive Board. Send an e-mail to terryh@speea.org with a brief explanation of why you’re interested. Include the roles/committees you’ve been active with SPEEA in your e-mail application.

Golfing it up for CFF!SPEEA member Keith Felling and associate mem-ber Orlando De Los Santos, activist, team up for Alison’s Angels Golf Tournament, Sept. 12, to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF).

Spend the evening with award-winning actor and activist Danny Glover at the A. Philip Randolph

Institute (APRI) annual banquet and cel-ebration Friday, Oct. 9, in Seattle.SPEEA has a limited number of tickets available for this event, which also features Clayola Brown, national president of APRI.

The banquet is from 7 to 9 p.m. at the International Association of Machinists (IAM) Hall, 9125 15th Pl. S. If you’re interested in sitting at the SPEEA table, contact Jessica Bonebright (jessicab@speea.org) by Friday, Oct 2. For more about Seattle APRI, go to www.apriseattle.org.