Bloomberg News reports that Boeing Inc. (NYSE: BA) chose a different approach to communicating with its union in the current round of talks. Rather than presenting its proposals to union leaders and relying on those leaders to share those details with the rank-and-file, Boeing chose to communicate directly with workers. Bloomberg interviewed an expert who said that Boeing's strategy may backfire because it makes union leaders feel threatened.
Union leaders may feel that Boeing is trying to end-run them with its communications strategy. Bloomberg quotes Gary Chaison, a labor-relations professor at Clark University in Worcester, MA who said that "Boeing believes that its offer, which is actually quite good, would appeal to the workers if only presented to them directly. The company seems to have confused public relations with collective bargaining." Chaison believes that Boeing is "usurping union leaders' role in communicating with members."
But Howard Rubel, a Jeffries analyst, believes that Boeing's offer is a good one and that workers may decide to accept it despite the urging of a strike by union leaders. Bloomberg quotes Rubel as saying that a strike -- which could begin one minute after midnight on September 4th -- would cost Boeing $120 million a day as it tries to meet its $275 billion backlog of orders over the next six years.
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