Boeing, the famous airplane company known for its many commercial airplanes, is currently experiencing a strike within their facilities. These strikes are due to pay raises not coming enough and problems with their retirement fund.
Striking is used as a method at work places to get what workers want if that is either better pay or better working conditions. However, strikes usually don’t work due to strikebreakers, people the company would hire to work in replacement of the people on strike so the company wouldn’t hurt as badly. Strikes are usually also insufficient due to not many workers going on strike, if there aren’t a lot of workers on strike then the strike usually doesn’t work in the workers favor.
“I’ve been hearing that Boeing is saying they get one salary but receiving another of less value…people aren’t getting the money they deserve,” junior Dom Campana said.
Boeing is under a lot of pressure with over 3,200 workers at local St. Charles, St. Louis, Missouri and in Mascoutah Illinois, facilities being on strike. With these workers getting paid a lower salary than promised, getting no bonuses or signing bonuses is reasonable on why they would be upset enough to strike.
“I think it depends on how many people are on strike but in general I think it works sometimes” junior Matthew Boehmer at St. Dominic High School said.
Boeing has made contract offers towards these union workers on strike but they have all gotten rejected. Boeing has still said they will lay off 10% of their workers even if the strikes continue or stop. There’s no telling when the strike will stop with the workers or Boeing not going in a direction where they both get what they want.
Boeing making relatively no progress in stopping the strike or giving in to what they want is not a good sign that they will stop. The Union workers think if they hold out enough they can get the pay raises and bonuses they deserve. Strikes usually aren’t the best method to get what you want in the work area, sometimes they work, sometime they don’t. We will see how it works out in the future whenever somebody gives in.
