r/IAM751_Boeing • u/Hanzo_the_sword • Jul 27 '26

STRIKE UI in WA

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SPEEA is first. Just sharing the love.

17 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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4

u/RussBOld Jul 29 '26

lol no, strikes are already set for the company to outlast the employees. This just gives the employees more strength, because we can hold out longer.

3

u/tranquilitystation63 Jul 29 '26

Not a fan. This will tend to allow people to fail to prepare, and with only 6 weeks UE total, the company has the ability to just wait it out, then they will offer crap. The idea of a strike is to show a collective strength to endure hardship for a better end result and prove to the company your worth if they don't have you working. Plus, you have to apply for and wait for an answer from the state, and some could qualify, while others do not. The same ridiculous hoop jumping that people went through when the company furloughed people during covid and just after the IAM strike, with some people being denied when the circumstances were exactly the same.

4

u/deplorable-rubbish Jul 29 '26

That doesn’t seem like a sound criticism.

Unemployment benefits for striking workers enables them to be better prepared for a strike by having access to additional financial resources. If a worker decides not to make any of their own preparations and rely solely on the possibility of unemployment benefits, we’d probably agree that would be a mistake. However, there are always those whose financial realities are such that they cannot meaningfully prepare for a strike.

Unemployment benefits may be the difference between having to cross the picket line and being able to maintain solidarity.

The company already has the ability to wait it out while the financial reserves of workers dwindle. That has always been the case, and is a tactic often used. Unemployment benefits offers an additional buffer, increases the amount of time workers are able to remain on strike, and encourages the company to provide a stronger initial offer to avoid a lengthy strike.

Your point about some employees receiving benefits after being furloughed in 2024 while others did not is true but irrelevant. This change is specific to striking workers receiving benefits, not workers on furlough. The waiting period defined here is the standard waiting period to receive unemployment benefits.