The strike at the airplane builder’s facility in Seattle, Washington, as of October 15, 2024 appeared to be at an impasse after two months of negotiations over a battle for higher wages and improved pension benefits. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers bargaining team and the company’s management squad could not break the logjam at the bargaining table.
An October 16 article in Reuters by writers Joe Brock and Matt McKnight briefly explained the issues and arguments of both sides. Of course, both sides have filed “unfair labor practices” with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Although Boeing is not an airline, it's one of the two largest manufacturers of commercial planes in the world. Airbus is number one, and the two month old strike is affecting an alleged current drop in Boeing stock of 40 percent.
The strike has also produced 17,000 job cuts and other cost cutting measures by the company in an effort to stop the plane maker's financial dilemma.
Although on a different level of an aeronautical money crisis from the past, strikers in the industry when an individual airline is on the brink of bankruptcy have employed creative methods to try and stop the bleeding of company losses.
For example, the famous financial advisor from the University of Georgia, by way of Metropolitan Moreland, provided words of wisdom that should be heeded by Boeing management.
In his best seller “You Can't Put No Boogie Woogie on the King of Rock and Roll” (1991- Villard Books) Lewis Grizzard (LG) provided a road map of steps for Eastern Airlines to implement what would have helped kept it still flying with a place in aviation history:
As everybody who keeps an eye on the commercial airline game knows, Eastern Airlines is flat broke.
Of course, so is Donald Trump, singer Billy Joel, and the United States of America.
Trump overbuilt, Joel let his brother-in-law handle his finances, and the United States of America is run by politicians, so what did you expect? There are a lot of reasons Eastern is hanging in the skies by a thread. Frank Lorenzo, whom Eastern employees would like to see hanging by a rope, is one.
But what I wanted to know is how the airline is intending to cut expenses in an effort to remain in the air.
So I contacted an Eastern source, who asked his (or her) name not be used.
Know, however, this person is a key cog in the Eastern chain of command and was willing to talk to me in order that Eastern customers would know the airline is digging in to save itself.
"What are some of the ways you are going to cut back?" I asked
"Magazines," the source replied. "You just don't realize how an much an airline has to spend on magazines and other reading material for passengers to peruse while in flight.
"From now on we'll have just one copy of USA Today aboard, and passengers will have to pass it around and take tums reading it."
"What else?" I wanted to know.
"We're doing away with seat cushions," was the answer. "But what about the fact the passengers could use their seat cushions for flotation?"
"That's a bunch of baloney, anyway. Ever see anybody at the beach floating on an airline seat cushion?
"Of course not. Passengers are just told their seat cushions will float so they won't be nervous when we fly over water."
"What are the passengers going to sit on?”
"They'll all be asked to bring their own pillows."
"How about the oxygen masks that are supposed to fall down in the unlikely event of cabin depressurization?"
"They're gone, too," said my source. "Also I'd suggest passengers being their own oxygen tanks aboard from now on."
"How will the crew be affected?"
"We're cutting out navigators,” I was told.
"But isn't that dangerous? How would the pilot know which way to fly?"
"It'll just have to be on instinct. If a flight leaves Philadelphia for Atlanta, for instance, the pilot will know to head south start slowing down when he sees Stone Mountain."
"How about flight attendants?"
"We won't need any. We're cutting out all drinks and just can't afford it."
"Cutting out the meals sounds like a great idea to me since nobody likes airline food anyway. But how can you get away with drinks?"
“We’re strongly suggesting each get sloshed before he or she gets on the plane, and they just might want to bring a bottle with them for the flight."
"Why is that?"
"We're doing away with our mechanics."
"No mechanics at all?"
"If there's a problem before takeoff, we'll ask for volunteers from the passengers who might know something about repairing an airplane.”
"What if nobody volunteers? Are you still going to take off?”
"We'll take a chance. Columbus did."
"Think the public will go for all this?” I asked.
"We'll be offering great discounts," said the person from Eastern. "You can get a round-trip ticket from anywhere we fly for $24.17 if you bring along your own toilet paper.”
(The publication of this article has been withheld until after the November 5, 2024 presidential election in order not to prejudice a potential voter opinion as to the financial superiority of either the Democrat or Republican hopeful.)
PS: The strike was settled on the eve of the presidential election on November 4, 2024. Coincidence?
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Jerry Summers