Last week, Boeing drew up a deal to end a six-week strike that has frozen production lines.But members of its union rejected the deal, extending a strike that has no end in sight. 33,000 machinists are on strike.
Among them are Tony Merwin and his son Patrick.Their family has worked at Boeing and Washington State for four generations.What was it like to go on strike?
We were on the picket line the very first night, and I'll be perfectly honest, the energy from the union members was intense.And it wasn't a bad intensity.Everyone was excited to fight.They wanted to fight for their future.
They wanted to fight for the future generations.And quite frankly, it was amazing.
Determination.I mean, that's what we see with everybody that we've talked to when we're out on the picket line.It's determination.You know, everybody's just tired of the corporate greed.
I work two weekends on, one weekend off, basically just to make it to where we're comfortable.So I'm having to sacrifice time with my family. to be able to make it to where my family is comfortable.
Boeing has always represented our life.I mean, it was truly a major part of my whole family's life here in the Puget Sound.All while I was growing up, you know, Boeing represented, you know, that was the ticket to the American dream.
For this area, Boeing was it at that time.Does it still?It doesn't represent that anymore.
Boeing says it's committed to finding a resolution to end the strike with an agreement that offers employees better pay and benefits while ensuring the company's future.
Tony and Patrick say that over the years, their standard of living has declined, their wages have stagnated, and benefits like pensions have gone away.And that is why they are on strike.
Me and my boys, we saw this coming a long time ago and we've been talking about this for a long time and we've been prepared for this strike.So however long it takes is however long it takes.
Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power.I'm Kate Leinbach.It's Wednesday, October 30th. Coming up on the show, why one Boeing family is on strike.
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There's a story in the Merwin family about how they ended up in Washington State working for Boeing.It goes back to the 1960s, when the family was living in South Dakota, and Tony's dad was working at a gold mine.
My dad didn't go to work one day, and there was a mining accident, something with an elevator, and a lot of the people on my dad's crew ended up dying.Wow. You know, my dad was supposed to be on that elevator, but he wasn't for some reason that day.
After the accident, Tony's dad didn't want to keep working at the mine.And that's when he heard about an opportunity out west, in Seattle.
This is the story of airplanes, of guided missiles, of space vehicles.
Of over 95,000 people. People of every conceivable talent.Together they make up the largest aerospace company in the world.The Boeing Company.
And so my dad packed us all up and packed everything up in a utility trailer and came out with less than $200 to their name. And on their way into Seattle, they pulled into the employment office.
Dad went in, he was carrying me and had my older brother by the hand when he walked in to go get an application, and he was hired on the spot.
At the time, Boeing was on a hiring spree and building a sprawling factory in Everett, Washington.That's where the company has built planes like the 747 and the Dreamliner. The Merwins settled into life in Washington State.
Tony's mom also got a job at Boeing as a clerk.With their incomes, Tony's parents were able to afford a three-bedroom house.How did your parents feel about Boeing?
I mean, growing up, Boeing was everything.I mean, you know, our family was incredibly proud to be Boeing.We grew up wearing Boeing clothing and, you know, had Boeing logos everywhere in our house.I mean, they were incredibly proud of being Boeing.
It was good.We always had a decent house to live in.We really never were hurting for anything.My mom and dad, they were able to support us very well.My childhood was great.
You know, I can remember what it was like being, you know, growing up in, in what was known as the Boeing family back then.I mean, Boeing actually treated their people like family, you know what I mean?They used to do Christmas parties every year.
I mean, every year we used to have open houses, every factory was open and they would have activities for the kids to do and different treats and different like stickers and all kinds of different things that you can get.
And I mean, I remember doing that all while I was growing up.
Tony decided to follow in his parents' footsteps.He joined Boeing when he was 23 as a wingline mechanic.
When I first started, I was a riveter, riveting wing panels together.It was grueling.I mean, it was heavy hard work.It was heavy structures, drilling holes and pounding fasteners, pounding rivets.And that was it.
And did you feel like you were making the kind of salary to lead the life that you expected?
Oh, yeah.Yeah, I mean, I really was.You know, I mean, while the kids were growing up, I mean, it's like they were able to do lots of things that I was proud to be able to provide for them.
I supported a family of six most of their life with a single income from Boeing.
With his bonuses and overtime pay, Tony was able to afford high school band trips, college tuition for his daughter, and vacations to the coast.
I have property at Ocean Shores, and we used to be able to go to Ocean Shores for a week at a time as a family and go on vacation every year.You know, sometimes a couple times through the summer we would go down there.
Boeing is what supported all that. You know, I was able to provide a very good life for my kids and myself and my wife on this company.
Tony wanted his three sons to have the life he had, so he encouraged them to join the Air Force.That way, they could get the kind of experience that would make them attractive job candidates at Boeing.Why?Why did you want to steer them toward Boeing?
Because Boeing had always been a fantastic opportunity, you know, and it was a great opportunity in this area.And I wanted them to be stable and be able to live a decent life.And Boeing represented that.
Patrick, did you have interest in Boeing or like as a kid, like what did you want to be when you grew up?
That's kind of a hard question for me because while I was a kid, I wanted to do so many different things, but Boeing was also always in the back of my mind because I knew that it was just a good company to go work for at the time.
And I never really questioned that I would eventually get there.I just wanted to try to do something else before that and to see if something would stick, but nothing actually stuck.
Why were you trying to avoid Boeing?
I was, shall we say, probably rebellious.I didn't necessarily want to follow in the family footsteps type of thing.But I also wanted to try to do my own thing and not necessarily follow everybody else.But eventually I did follow everybody else.
But Patrick says working for Boeing hasn't afforded him the life he grew up with. That's next.
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In the decades since Tony was raising his family, the Seattle area has boomed, as employers like Microsoft, Amazon, and Starbucks set up their headquarters there.But that boom has changed the economics of the region.
It now has some of the country's priciest housing costs, and consumer prices in the Seattle area are 13% higher than the average for U.S.cities.
Tony, who has more than 30 years of experience at Boeing and makes $48 an hour, says that wage hasn't kept up with the cost of living.
I have a heart condition.I had a heart attack three years ago.I was in the hospital for five days. And then last winter, I ended up back in the hospital.I had two different procedures.I'm lucky that I'm even here.Every day is a blessing.
I'm happy that I'm still alive.But bottom line is, my doctor tells me that I shouldn't be doing any overtime.He's given me notes three different times to take to work and say, I really don't want you working any overtime.
But I don't turn those notes in because I can't. I have to work at least one overtime weekend a month to make my bills, or I start going behind.
Tony's three sons all work at Boeing.Patrick, who joined as an aircraft test technician, started at $21 an hour, about the same wage as an Amazon warehouse worker.
Within a year, Patrick says he started earning $28 an hour and got 50-cent pay raises every six months. And then this year, when he hit the six year mark, he got bumped up to $46 an hour.
And now do you feel like you can, I mean, do you feel like you have been able to live a comfortable life like the kind of life you grew up with?
Yes and no.Yes, because I've been able to buy my house, which I'm obviously still paying on and whatnot like that.But I have a house.I have my own car.But let's put this into perspective real quick.
When I was growing up, like Dad said, I had pretty much anything that I wanted for the most part.I could do activities.I could do sports.I could do whatever it was.Well, I have two kids of my own. One is an aspiring artist.
There are times where I haven't been able to get him art supplies because we didn't have the money for it. My other kid, he's showing an interest in baseball right now.
I had to work overtime to be able to actually afford getting really anything in terms of supplies.I couldn't afford a glove, which apparently is $40 or $50 now, which is ridiculous to me.$50, I couldn't afford $50. on essentially a 40 hour week.
You weren't able to afford $50 even though you work every other weekend.I mean, it's not 40 hour a week that you weren't able to afford that $50.
You weren't able to afford that $50 and you work every other weekend or not even every other two on one off most of the time.Yes.I mean, you work more overtime than I did when you were growing up and you can't afford a baseball glove for your kid.
And that's not your fault.You're working as hard as you can work.You know, I watch Patrick.He works as much, if not more overtime than I did all while he was growing up.
And he hasn't been able to give his family anything other than a roof over their head and food in their stomach.But they don't really have extra beyond that.
You know, I don't get to see them actually out enjoying life because they're just trying to survive. And that's not what you should be doing when you work for a Fortune 500 company.
You know, we are the number one exporter in the United States and the families that work for them are just surviving.There's something wrong with that.
Negotiations have been ongoing.Last week, Boeing offered the union a 35% wage increase over four years, a guaranteed annual bonus of 4%, and a $7,000 one-time ratification bonus.
But almost two-thirds of union members, including Tony and Patrick, rejected the offer.Members are pushing for a bigger wage increase, a restoration of pension benefits, and other improvements.
Boeing said it will not reinstate pension benefits, calling them, quote, prohibitively expensive.And as the strike drags on, it's taking a financial toll on Boeing.
The company is burning through cash, most assembly lines are frozen, and it announced a plan to cut 17,000 jobs.Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Boeing is exploring selling off parts of its space business.
Are you worried about the financial ramifications that this strike is having on Boeing, the company?
Absolutely not.This company, for 25 years, all I've ever heard is, we need to take care of the shareholders.All I ever hear is the executive branch saying, you guys need to do more for less. That's all I've heard for 25 years.
So do I think that they don't have money and that, are they hurting?Are they in a bad position?Yeah, they've put themselves in a bad position.They need to get these lines moving and all they're doing is wasting time.
Why are you still at the company?
Because, you know, I, I'm 59 years old.You know, this is what I've done my whole life. You know, I don't have any other places that I really want to be.I really want this company to go back to being what it was.
I want these jobs to be attractive again.I want these jobs being something that skilled people compete for like they used to.You know, I want this company to go back to being the iconic company that it used to be.I truly do want that.
And Patrick, what about you?How do you feel about your future at Boeing?
It's shaky.If we were to continue going on with the pay that we were getting from our previous contract, with inflation always going up, I would have to work more and more overtime to just keep ends from getting torn apart.
And the future would look pretty bleak in that aspect because I wouldn't have time with my family.My wife's mental health sometimes gets affected by the fact that I am always at work.And I don't want that to happen.I want to be home.
I want to have that work-life balance where I don't have to work overtime to make ends meet.I shouldn't have to work so much overtime just to clothe the kids for school.
Like, I shouldn't have to work overtime just to make sure that they're taken care of.
Over four generations in your family, this dream of a Boeing job leading to a good life might be coming to an end.
That's what it feels like to me.I'll put it this way.As it stands right now, I would not suggest to my two boys to come to Boeing.
How long do you think you'll be on strike?
That's all for today, Wednesday, October 30th.The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal.Special thanks to Sharon Turlop and Zeos Green. Thanks for listening.See you tomorrow.
