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

Food drive ‘score’ – P2

Greening of Southie – P3

Representing aerospace professionals with competence, integrity and action

Democracy in action - P4

April 17, 2009 / No. 2079

Council Rep elections - ballots due April 22

About 80% of the Council Rep seats filled up for the 2009-2011 term. Thanks to the large number who stepped up to serve. About 65% ran unopposed in their district. Another 11 districts have contested races. Members in districts with contested races received ballots in the mail. Ballots are due by noon, Wednesday, April 22, at the

SPEEA halls. If you mail your ballot (instead of dropping it off ), be sure to allow an extra day as a buffer.All Council Reps will be seated at the May 14 regional Council meetings for 2009-2011 terms.

Contested Council Rep races(Names listed as they appear on the ballot based on a random drawing)

Northwest Northwest • A-10 (two seats) - Judy Mogan,

John D. Kampsen, Bill Barrett• A-20 (one seat) – Glenn H Whitt,

Ron Shoemaker• D-3 (three seats) – Saad M Alyan,

Brendan Boyle, Jeff Stone, John Brown, Tom Katona

• E-17 (three seats) – Robert L Weiss, Richard Mahoney, John K. Erdelyan, Gail Evert, Jason T. Nguyen

• E-18 (two seats) – Thomas L Fisher, Jennifer MacKay, Sandy Hastings

• E-29 (two seats) – Sergey D Barmichev, David Smart, W Mark Worden

• K-9 (two seats) – Francis Chan, Theryl (TJ) Johnson, James Pagenkopf, Danny Dao, Carlo Caraccioli

• P-2 (two seats) – Joel Funfar, Ken Rash, Joseph G Asaif

• P-5 (two seats) – Mohammad A Ali, Gary Fogle, David A. Hunter

• R-4 (one seat) – Tim Schroeder, Jim Bailie

Midwest Midwest • N-1 – Ruth Ann Mullhatten, Joe

Newberry, Jon Hood

Negotiation Team begins subcommittee work

WICHITA – Pre-loaded with member issues from the survey data, the SPEEA Negotiation

Team representing engineers at Spirit AeroSystems began meeting April 13 in subcommittees with management repre-sentatives. The four subcommittees are workforce, benefits, compensation, and labor management.The subcommittee meeting discussions on contract issues set the stage for Main Table negotiations starting June 9. The contract expires July 11.The SPEEA Wichita Engineering Unit (WEU) team holds monthly information sessions after hours at the Kansas Aviation

Museum (a few blocks from the Spirit facilities). The next one is May 11. The

team also goes to lunchtime meet-ings hosted by Council Reps and Area Reps in the workplace. The top priorities, according to survey data, include overtime, increasing salary pool funds and benefits. Other issues include career growth and Earned Time Off. SPEEA had to push the com-pany to offer payback options after the company mandated the shorter workweek last fall.Show your support for Wichita Spirit engineers! Wear your SPEEA

red Solidarity T-shirt on Fridays until Spirit WEU ratifies a contract.

The SPEEA Negotiation Team (all engineers at Spirit): Chris Black (co-chair), Shane Michael, Joe Heng, Cheryl Beasley and Matthew Joyce (co-chair).

Shown above: Northwest Council meeting April 9 at the SPEEA headquarters. At the next meeting, May 12, the Council Reps who ran for 2009-2011 terms will be seated.

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 VPSharon Moats NW Regional VPLarry Marrell NW Regional VPEarl Carter MW Regional VP

SPEEA Council OfficersJoel Funfar ChairRenee Jarvi TreasurerAlan Rice Secretary

Midwest Regional Council OfficersDonna Castaneda ChairDebbie Logsdon TreasurerRhonda Greer Secretary

Northwest Regional Council OfficersRoger Pullman ChairSandra Hastings TreasurerMark Schuetz Secretary

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

speea@speea.orgwww.speea.org

2 • SPEEA NEWS / April 17, 2009 / No. 2079

Food drive final ‘score’For those who are keeping track of SPEEA’s March for Hunger, food and cash donations continued to flow into the SPEEA halls after the deadline. So not only did we meet the 10,000 pound goal – we exceeded it. Our latest total is more than 11,500. For those who want to keep on giving to this good cause, consider designating Puget Sound Labor Agency in your Employee Community Fund (ECF) contribution. Shown above at SPEEA Everett, they loaded up food donations for the VOA food bank which accepts referrals from PSLA Snohomish County.

Executive Board mini-minutes – April 2 Attendees: Cynthia Cole, Jimmie Mathis, Ryan Rule, Larry Marrell, Walt Ditlefsen, Bill Hartig, Earl Carter Council: Joel Funfar, Roger Pullman, Donna Castaneda Staff: Ray Goforth, Bob Rommel, Robin Fleming, Martin PascualAt their regular meeting, the Executive Board:• Authorized SPEEA staff to sign an ISP

agreement. • Approved purchasing a video projector

and ceiling mount and to surplus an old video projector.

• Approved purchasing a software upgrade for the printing department.

• Approved purchasing one file server.• Approved use of the Everett hall for the

movie “Greening of Southie,” sponsored by Martin Luther King County Labor Council.

• Approved two members of the Midwest Young Professionals to attend Twitter training.

• Approved an additional $250 to help cover speaker fees for the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association(PNLHA) June conference.

DeadlinesCommunications intern at SPEEA – April 30Applications are due April 30 for the summer internship at SPEEA. We’re looking for a student whose major is in communications or public relations. This is a paid posi-tion. Send resume and writing samples to SPEEA IFPTE Local 2001, 15205 52nd Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98188.

Pezzini H.O.P.E. nominations – May 1Send us the name of a SPEEA member who is active in both the union and his/her community for the annual Stephen Pezzini Helping Other People Excel (HOPE) award. To help the selection committee, give examples of your nominee’s efforts. Nominations go to terryh@speea.org by May 1.

NW Council actions – April 9

At their regular meeting, the Northwest Council Reps voted on the following motions:

• NW09-014 - Support for the Economic Opportunity Institute.  The motion failed. 

• NW09-015 - Seattle Chapter A. Philip Randolph Institute support. This motion passed. 

• NW09-016 - Support for the League of Women Voters. This motion failed.

• NW09-017 - NW Policy, Section III-A, 3: Standing Committee. This motion passed. 

• NW09-018 - Revision of NW Policy. This motion was referred to the NW Governing Documents Committee.

• NW09-019 - Extension of Council Representative Basic Training Requirements.  This motion passed.

SPEEA NEWS / April 17, 2009 / No. 2079 • 3

UPCOMING SPEEA EVENTS

CPI – February

The U.S. City Average all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban wage earners and cleri-

cal workers (CPI-W) on a 1982-84=100 base for February 2009 is 206.7. (On a 1967=100 base, the February index is 615.7). This is a 0.5% increase from January and a 0.3% decrease from February 2008. For more details, go to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics web site at www.bls.gov.

Portland ‘special delivery’Portland Council Reps Matt Carter (left) and Ken Parcher (right) are shown with Rich Plunkett, SPEEA director of strategic develop-ment. Plunkett and contract administrator Steve Spyridis were in Portland for retention appeals. While there, they presented Carter with a recogni-tion award from the Northwest banquet. Carter was the site focal activist in the Bargaining Unit Negotiation Support (BUNS) and Contract Action Network (CAN).

Running for elected office?

Whether you’ve aspired to run for a local board, council, committee or perhaps state office, you may

have wondered where to begin. Learn from the experts at a special Labor Candidate School in Kingston, Wash., June 1-4. The Washington State Labor Council hosts the event to encourage more union activists to run for office and bring labor’s perspective to the table. Murray Fishel, president of Grassroots Political Campaigns, leads the school. He also founded America’s first graduate program in campaign management, which is at Kent State University.Topics include strategy, polling, campaign research, building a volunteer organization, media, campaign financing and fundrais-ing. To find out more, contact Benjamin Lawver at (206) 281-8901.

Supporting KANSEL not a ‘trivial pursuit’

SPEEA members teamed up for the annual Kansas School for Effective Learning (KANSEL) Team Trivia Night,

a fund-raiser for the non-profit in Wichita. SPEEA’s team included Karen Carpenter, Earl and Diane Carter, Pat and Cyndi Clough, and Steve Smith. Ruth Ann

Mullhatten, a SPEEA activist, partici-pated on the Wichita Hutchinson Labor Federation trivia team. The SPEEA team came in fourth this year out of 24 teams (missing third place by one point). KANSEL offers individualized training on basic academic and computer skills to help people gain living-wage jobs.

See the online calendar at www.speea.org for details

Salary charts overviewApril 21 SeattleApril 23 Everett

SPEEA 101May 6 – Seattle

May 13 – Everett

Wichita discount dinner theater

WICHITA – The Midwest Membership Activities Committee (MAC) has dis-count tickets on sale for the Mosley Street Melodrama. Members and their immediate families can buy tickets for $13 each (half off ) for the May 30 production of ‘Thoroughly Modern Mennonite.’Ticket reservations need to be made and prepaid through the SPEEA office by May 22.

Movie night in Everett

‘Greening of Southie’

Wednesday, April 295:30 to 7:30 p.m.

RSVP: (425) 355-2883 (or email speea@speea.org)

Th i s n e w d o c u m e n -tary tells the

story of Boston’s first ‘green’ residen-tial building from the perspective of the men and women w h o c o n s t r u c t it. ‘Green’ build-ing emphasizes recycling, sustainable resources and energy efficiency as pri-orities. Martin Luther King County Labor Council will present the movie at SPEEA and five other unions throughout Puget Sound in celebration, of ‘Earth Week in the Union Halls.’

NW Council Secretary Mark Schuetz congratulates Council Rep John Klym for a recognition award.

Week of April 20, 2009Wednesday, Apr. 23 4:00 p.m. MW Governing Documents

Week of April 27, 2009 No meetings scheduled

Week of May 4, 2009Tuesday, May 5 4:30 p.m. MW Membership Activities Committee

Week of April 20, 2009Monday, Apr. 20 5:00 p.m. SPEEA Legislative & Public Aff airs

Tuesday, Apr. 21 4:30 p.m. Organizational Planning

Wednesday, Apr. 22 5:00 p.m. NW Governing Documents

Thursday, Apr. 23 5:00 p.m. NW Legislative & Public Aff airs

Week of April 27, 2009Monday, Apr. 27 5:00 p.m. Facilities Committee

Tuesday, Apr. 28 5:00 p.m. Women’s Advocacy Committee

Wednesday, Apr. 29 5:00 p.m. SPEEA Governing Documents

Week of May 4, 2009Tuesday, May 5 5:00 p.m. Leadership Development & Training

Wednesday, May 5 5:00 p.m. Health & Wellness

Thursday, May 7 4:00 p.m. Executive Board

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 )

NORTHWEST MEETINGS (ALL TIMES PDT )

This newsletter is approved for posting on SPEEA Bulletin Boards

UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULES

4 • SPEEA NEWS / April 17, 2009 / No. 2079

SPEEA finalizes dates for WEU Boeing contractAlthough the contract is in place, the SPEEA Wichita Engineering Unit (WEU) Negotiation Team continued working to finalize implementation dates.

Key dates include:• Pension basic plan benefit –

effective May 1• Partial day vacation –

effective June 1• Partial day sick leave –

effective July 1• Benefit year change – No changes

until Jan. 1, 2010. Deductibles paid in the last six months of 2009 will apply toward 2010 deductibles.

• Overtime and paid time off in the same pay period – effective July 17

• Overtime over 144 hours in a quarter – effective March 27

• Payout for vacation beyond two-year max – effective March 27

• Voluntary layoff pilot – effective May 15

• Selective salary adjustment – TBD (pay raises will be retroactive to Feb. 27)

A few issues are still pending and will be shared with the bargaining unit when final.

Democracy in action Shown above are members of the Pro/Con teams in charge of writing statements on the organizing referendum to be included in the election packets. The teams include Joel Funfar, Bill Hartig, James Hatfield, Ron Mathes and Gordon Todd. Hartig and Hatfield participated by televideo from Wichita.The proposed change would allow SPEEA to organize more broadly in the aerospace industry. Because it is a constitutional change, it requires a member-wide vote. Ballots go in the mail by May 26.

SPEEA-Boeing Prof and TechSalary charts online by

April 21www.speea.org

Issues aired at CAS Ops meeting

SEATTLE – At Commercial Aviation Services (CAS) Operations Center, represented employees recently had

the opportunity to discuss their issues firsthand with a third-level manager thanks to SPEEA.Topics included concerns about pos-sible layoffs and the use of contractors. They also discussed the intent of Personal Business (PerBus) , Non-Industr ia l (NonInd) sick leave and flex time. SPEEA Council Rep Andy Fixman, SPEEA Contract Administrator Laura Anderson and Bruce Rund, Operations Center manager, initiated the meeting in response to members’ concerns.

They held the meeting twice on April 2 to accommodate different shifts. About a dozen came to each meeting. “It was a great opportunity for dialogue,” said Anderson. “The employees were free to ask questions of management, and they did so. Management also did a great job of listening to employees and answering their questions.”She also noted Fixman’s role as Council Rep in bringing everyone to the table for their input. “This is an example of SPEEA and Boeing carrying out the intent of the contract. We work best when we work together.”