The Boeing strike took a bizarre and ominous turn on Monday morning when a security guard reportedly drew a gun after a disturbance with workers on the official union picket line. The disturbing incident occurred at Boeing’s spare parts distribution center in Sea-Tac, and the only good news is that no one was physically injured during the interaction.
This could have been a tragedy
On Monday, the Seattle Times reported that a contract security guard at Boeing’s Sea-Tac spare parts distribution center drew a gun after an altercation with striking union pickets outside the facility. Thankfully, no one was physically injured, but the incident has increased tension levels around a strike that is starting to look ugly.
Given the number of people involved, it is somewhat surprising that so little is known about the incident as Monday draws to a close in Seattle, but what is known is that the guard drove away from the picket line, and no one was injured. However, with Boeing and the IAM retreating to their corners in readiness for a Tuesday mediation meeting, they are not commenting on today’s incident either.
The guard was an employee of Boeing’s contract security company Allied Universal, and a person familiar with the incident told the Seattle Times that when an argument between the guard and a picket escalated, a supervisor intervened. As the guard drove away, he brandished a gun at the strikers, and later on Monday, Allied Universal spokesperson Kari Garcia said the guard had been fired. On Monday night, Boeing said in a statement:
“This was an unacceptable incident, and the contract security guard involved will not return to Boeing. We respect our employees’ right to picket peacefully and believe everybody should feel safe.”
The report said King County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Brandyn Hull advised that deputies responded to a disturbance and pickets blocking access outside the Boeing facility just after 06:00. Hull added that although it’s certain he showed the gun, “there is no information that he had pointed it at anyone specifically,” and that the sheriff’s investigation is now closed.
Another hit for a fragile supply chain
On Monday, Boeing came out with a long list of cost-cutting measures, including a hiring freeze, a pause on nonessential travel and a cut in supplier spending to preserve cash while production is stalled. Boeing chief financial officer Brian West told staff the company would significantly reduce supplier spending and stop most purchase orders for its 737 MAX, 767 and 777 aircraft. West added:
“We are working in good faith to reach a new contract agreement that reflects their feedback and enables operations to resume. However, our business is in a difficult period. The strike jeopardizes our recovery in a significant way and we must take necessary actions to preserve cash and safeguard our shared future.”
Throwing more fuel on the picket line fire, West said that Boeing is “considering the difficult step of temporary furloughs for many employees, managers and executives in the coming weeks.” Other measures include ending first and business class flights, suspending spending on consultants, pausing charitable contributions, canceling off-site meetings and pausing employee recognition and team event spending.
As I reported yesterday, when 96% of your staff file out the door with just a few hours’ notice, there is obviously far more at play than the differences between the workers’ claims and Boeing’s offer. If Boeing continues to treat this as just another company/labor dispute and does not grasp the need to understand how its relationship with its employees got so toxic, it will be the ultimate loser and sink even deeper than it already has.