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Boeing found itself in a pickle on Saturday when a union representing nearly 27,000 machinists went on strike after failed negotiations for a new three-year contract. At the heart of the strike is workers' anger over Boeing's outsourcing policies and concerns over job security.
While outsourcing has become standard for all types of manufacturing companies these days, Boeing's global supply chain is being plagued by slow suppliers, which have caused the 787 program to become more then a year behind schedule. This has caused anger and frustration with workers, and now the union wants more say on how much and what work is allowed to be outsourced. Boeing, however, is eager for more freedom in regard to when and how it is allowed to seek out global suppliers.
This is going to hurt for all parties involved regardless of the outcome.
Boeing is obviously going to fall far behind in fulfilling its orders for products. This is going to cost them a lot of money. It's not too difficult to see how Boeing will feel the pain. Looking a little deeper, in the long run, it is the union workers who stand to lose, and not just those working at Boeing.
The main reason that companies outsource manufacturing work is that it is cheaper and more efficient. One of the many things companies look for in overseas suppliers is a favorable labor environment. This is part of what makes outsourcing a cheaper way to go. Union workers are more expensive than nonunion workers, and strikes can get rather expensive as well - as Boeing will soon find out. Because of this, striking workers only reinforce Boeing and other companies' belief that moving operations abroad is the best way to go.
Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is irrelevant. It is reality. Because Boeing is one of the largest defense contractors in the world, it is unlikely that they would do anything to upset Americans at large, as it may cause them to lose a government contact or two, but striking to prevent outsourcing is counterproductive and ridiculous.
So while Boeing may have to compromise this time, they will not soon forget lessons learned. As the world shifts to a more globalized economy, things like this will continue to happen. To think this is an issue of worker versus company is dead wrong. This is worker versus worker. To not realize this is fatal.
The Boeing union workers need to take a harder look at what they are trying to accomplish with this strike and realize that instead of just biding their time they should try to find a way to beat their real opponents. Boeing can fix its supply chain problems, and perhaps the solution lies with more domestic manufacturing, but the unions are going to have to step up and show that they are not more trouble then they're worth to make it happen.
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