On this day in labor history, the year was 1995.
That was the day Machinists at Boeing ended their 69-day strike.
33,000 workers won increased pay and health benefits.
They also won job protections against subcontracting.
Contractual clauses against subcontracting were important, especially given the fact that NAFTA had just been passed two years earlier.
The contract specified that the union be given three months notice regarding any plans to subcontract out work.
It also incentivized keeping work in house by calling for increased benefits to laid-off workers and mandatory retraining and reemployment of workers displaced by subcontracting.
These provisions came after IAM members rejected two previous contract offers.
They were furious at the initial demands for concessions, even as Boeing executives were awarded multimillion-dollar stock options.
At the time, the IAM and its members lauded this as a total victory.
And for a few years, Boeing abided by the contract they signed.
Subsequently, Boeing bosses have routinely violated their agreements.
Many of these provisions were lost in the 2002 contract, and then recaptured in 2008.
But the next contract negotiations witnessed a renewed fight for job security.
Over the past two decades, Boeing workers have seen massive lay-offs, subcontracting, pension freezes and phase-outs, and relocation of their work.
All while the company rakes in billions in profits, gets lucrative tax breaks and subsidies, and has close to 5000 back orders for planes.
Subcontracting clauses are important but can only work when they’re enforced.
Victories like the winning strike in 1995 can serve as a reminder for workers today that if they stand together in solidarity they can win better wages, hours, and conditions at the bargaining table.
March 19 - Wartime President Pushes for Labor Peace
March 18 - Wartime Workers Betrayed
March 17 - The Hoggs Hollow Tragedy
March 16 - Big Bill Haywood Talks General Strike
March 15 - The Grapes of Wrath Opens in Theaters
March 14 - Remembering Walter Crane
March 13 - Ending Jim Crow on the Job
March 12 - OSHA Safety Incentives
March 11 - Raising Conditions for an Industry
March 10 - Radium Girls
March 9 - Striking the Mines
March 8 - IBEW Strikes to Win
March 7 - Work Faster! Work Faster!
March 6 - International Unemployed Day
March 5 -Lordstown Syndrome
March 4 - Mismanagement Kills an Airline
March 3 - Wildcat Strikes Hit Chrysler and Briggs
March 2 - Greyhound Bus Strike Begins
March 1 - The Hoover Dam Goes Public
February 28 - Fighting for Equal Pay
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