A union engaged in contract negotiations with Boeing accused the company Friday of unfair treatment of union members who are demonstrating against Boeing.
The Society of Professional Engineering in Aerospace (SPEEA) issued a statement Monday stating it had filed charges Friday against Boeing. The charges alleged Boeing videotaped and photographed SPEEA members marching at Portland and Everett plants.
The charges also claimed Boeing confiscated SPEEA members' photographs of the marches.
"Taking video of employees on a lunchtime march is nothing more than intimidation and harassment," SPEEA executive director Ray Goforth said. "The company has no legitimate reason to confiscate cameras and delete photos."
SPEEA members have staged demonstrations at multiple Boeing facilities during contract negotiations. The union said demonstration sizes included anywhere from a few dozen workers to more than 2,500.
SPEEA and Boeing continue to negotiate engineer and worker contracts after SPEEA members voted Oct. 1 to reject Boeing's offer. The union said the rejected Boeing proposal would have reduced medical benefits, provided employees with a salary increase at roughly the rate of inflation, and replaced the current pension program with a 401(k) plan that would lower retirement benefits by up to 40 percent.
