Task Force To Explore Wage Gripes At Boeing

The Boeing Co. has set up a task force to investigate wage-related morale problems among engineers and technical workers.

It was only eight months ago that members of the Seattle Professional Engineering Employees Association approved a new contract that raises average pay 23.5 percent over four years.

But a new way of administering a pay-for-performance program is causing some dissatisfaction.

SPEEA doesn’t negotiate a general-wage increase for its members. Instead, SPEEA negotiates increases in the size of a performance-pay pool. Boeing managers then use that pool to give raises to engineers and technicians based on performance.

Generally, those with less experience get bigger raises than those with more experience and more time on the job.

In some cases, veteran staffers wind up making the same or even less than newcomers.