By Allison Lampert
(Reuters) – Workers at U.S. aerospace factories seeking to reduce mandatory overtime and guarantee four-day work weeks are facing some resistance from plane makers trying to increase production to meet growing demand for jets.
Manufacturers have had to make some concessions due to a tight labor market following a wave of COVID-19-induced reforms, but major planemakers are not receptive to certain demands.
In aviation, improved work-life balance has been coupled with higher wages as pilots make major demands on aircraft mechanics following the emergence of hybrid work weeks following the pandemic. But major scheduling changes on the factory floor could weigh on manufacturers’ efforts to produce more commercial jets.
Boeing workers currently in negotiations want to end mandatory weekend overtime, but that has emerged as a stumbling block in negotiations for nearly 33,000 unionized workers at the Boeing factory, whose members voted Wednesday for a strike mandate. , according to union leaders.
Boeing’s largest union said members are ready to vote on Sept. 12 to strike if necessary. A labor disruption would hamper an expected increase in production of its hot-selling 737 MAX jet to about 38 units a month by the end of the year.
“We’ve made some good improvements in limiting the amount of designated overtime, but it’s not enough,” said Jon Holden, president of the Seattle-area local union that represents workers on the 737 MAX and other jets.
Boeing said that, on average, less than 1% of its employees work mandatory overtime on weekends. “We know our employees value their time outside of work,” he added.
Boeing jet production has slowed sharply this year after increased scrutiny from regulators, airlines and lawmakers following an incident in January when a door flap blew off an Alaska Airlines plane while it was in the air.
FAMILY TIME
Scheduling is a challenge for aerospace, in part because the industry needs experienced mechanics on every shift to expand production, but older employees have seniority to avoid working odd hours.
European giant Airbus would not agree to four-day weeks for A220 night shift workers in its recent contract because the existing schedule is necessary to support the jet’s launch, said Eric Rancourt, union official at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Engineers. Workers (IAM) in Quebec.
Industry sources said the loss-making A220, which seats around 110 to 130 people, is already among the models most affected by production delays. The European planemaker recently cut key industrial and financial targets.
Airbus, which wanted to impose overtime in June, has since assigned the overtime voluntarily, said Christian Bertrand, president of the local union representing A220 workers in the Montreal area.
Andy Voelker, a talent expert at consultancy McKinsey & Company, said younger workers entering the workforce have higher expectations for workplace flexibility. About a third of the U.S. aerospace and defense engineering and manufacturing workforce is 55 or older, he said.
Some mechanics are making gains. Boeing is acquiring Spirit AeroSystems, which agreed in 2023 to make mandatory Sunday overtime voluntary, and Montreal-area night shift workers at business jet maker Bombardier have negotiated a four-day week. Bombardier declined to comment.
According to a McKinsey analysis conducted this month, the demand for talent in the industry is greater than the available supply, and this could cost a mid-sized aerospace company between $300 million and $330 million per year in lost productivity.
The IAM, which also represents Boeing workers, is also pushing for limits on mandatory weekday overtime, said Holden, the Seattle union leader.
Unlike office workers who have been able to work from home during the pandemic, mechanics have often had to take unpaid leave.
“We will never be able to work from home, but we need more free time to spend with our families,” he said.
(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
