A Month Into Strike, Boeing Employees Continue to Press for Company Change — and Accountability

Close to 33,000 Boeing workers went on strike Sept. 13, and, as some 17,000 Boeing workers face layoffs, workers and industry whistleblowers are raising their voices for fair wages and benefits and speaking out against what they say are deep-rooted safety and management issues within the company. At the Boeing facility in Renton, quality assurance inspector Nathan Sykes and 737 MAX whistleblower Ed Pierson shared their concerns with the South Seattle Emerald about corporate accountability and worker dignity.

The Workers’ Perspective: Wages, Pensions, and Pride

Sykes, a quality assurance inspector in Boeing’s military division, joined the picket line on Wednesday, Oct. 9, with a clear message about the situation at Boeing. “I’m 35, and I’ve never owned a house,” Sykes said, referencing the difference between his generation and the previous one. “I’ve had two uncles retire from here after 30 years, and their finances were never in question. They were always able to afford stuff. I want to give my kids a home.”

For Sykes, the strike is personal. Once a symbol of stability, workers say Boeing jobs are now marred by frustration over lost pensions and stagnant wages. “It used to mean something to tell people you work at Boeing, and now it’s embarrassing,” he explained. The loss of pension benefits is a particular sore spot for many, including Sykes. “The way they took our pension was shady and despicable, and I don’t blame anyone for refusing to go back to work until we fix that.” In 2014, Boeing announced that, beginning in 2016, it would freeze pensions for 68,000 employees. 

Beyond pensions, Sykes expressed frustration with Boeing’s reluctance to meet basic financial demands from workers. “We haven’t had a new contract in over 10 years,” he said. “Not only has everything increased, but now [there’s] inflation. 40% is what the union’s asking for. I think that’s the bare minimum. Yeah, I think we should be asking for way more than that.”

Sykes also criticized what he saw as Boeing’s focus on stock buybacks instead of investing in its workers. “I think it’s bullshit. They should be at the table negotiating what we deserve and stop worrying about what they’re losing. Making Boeing a good place that people want to work at again will bring the talent back, the skills back.”

The Whistleblower’s Take: Safety Concerns and Management Failures

While Sykes and his coworkers fight for financial stability, Pierson, a former 737 MAX whistleblower, shed light on the broader safety concerns plaguing Boeing. Pierson worked at Boeing’s factory during the production of the 737 MAX and tried to sound the alarm on what he saw as dangerous work-arounds in manufacturing processes.

“I was very concerned that we were taking shortcuts in manufacturing processes and that we were taking unnecessary risks,” Pierson explained. “I tried to get leadership to shut the factory down. It was such a chaotic environment, and the leadership didn’t want to hear it. I decided I was going to retire early, and then, like a month and a half later, the Lion Air accident happened.” The accident took the lives of 189 people when a Boeing jet plunged into the sea in October 2018.

Since retiring, Pierson has continued to raise concerns about systemic problems at Boeing, particularly around safety and quality control. “There’s a lot of problems in these factories, and they’re pressuring employees to take shortcuts. They’re not providing adequate training. They’re having quality control issues,” he said. “All this stuff has been going on for years.”

Pierson believes Boeing’s leadership is out of touch with the real issues on the factory floor. “Senior executives spend very little time with their workers on the factory floors. When they do come down, it’s usually like a photo op,” Pierson said. “They see everything through spreadsheets and stock prices. If they spent more time, they would see the issues with engineering and quality that these employees who are striking see regularly.”

Pierson has also been investigating safety concerns that extend beyond the 737 MAX crashes. He said his research found ongoing problems with electrical systems in new planes, some of which have gone unreported by airlines, like Alaska Airlines. “We submitted a report in October where we highlighted Alaska Airlines had submitted over 1,200 safety reports on 53 brand-new planes over a two-year span,” Pierson claimed. “These were serious issues — aircraft system failures that shouldn’t be happening on any plane, much less new planes.”

Pierson’s message to Boeing’s leadership is clear: “Ground those planes, do detailed inspections, and fix them. Continuing to deny or downplay these issues, that lack of integrity, is not going to fix the planes.”

The Connection: Safety and Worker Conditions

The concerns raised by Sykes and Pierson converge at the intersection of worker treatment and aircraft safety. Both men believe Boeing’s pressure on employees to work overtime and its failure to address safety issues are interconnected problems. “If you work [employees] like dogs, if you pressure them to work overtime over and over again, they make mistakes,” Pierson said. “One person makes a serious mistake, and it’s not caught. That’s dangerous.”

Sykes agreed, pointing to the importance of fair wages and better working conditions. “We want a livable wage so there’s not this over-dependency on getting overtime,” he said. “The company would rather throw a bunch of overtime at it than hire new people because it’s cheaper. But that is dangerous because now you have people that are exhausted.”

A Call for Change

Both Sykes and Pierson are united in their call for what they say would be a better Boeing — not just for workers, but for the safety of the public. “These workers are the backbone of the company,” Pierson said. “If they’re not properly supported, it’s not just their livelihood at risk; it’s the safety of everyone who flies.”

On Oct. 14, Boeing announced it would cut 17,000 jobs in an effort to reduce its overall, worldwide workforce by 10%. CEO Kelly Ortberg’s message to the remaining employees was that cutting jobs was necessary “to align with our financial reality.” The staff reductions will affect executives, managers, and possibly striking employees. 

Both Boeing and the union have filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board asserting the other has been arguing in bad faith. After a strike that’s lasted over a month, the push for reform at Boeing, from the factory floors to the boardrooms, grows more urgent. Workers like Sykes demand fair wages and benefits, while whistleblowers like Pierson call for a renewed focus on safety and integrity. Both believe the future of Boeing, and the safety of its passengers, hangs in the balance.