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Hire back the guys who built the BUFF, which is neither Fat nor Ugly.
I just don't like disparaging remarks about the Stratofortress.
I think it was in the 1990's that there was talk about eliminating safety wire because it could damage the NBC(nuclear biological chemical) suits that might have to be worn by mechanics. Since I was working on supporting old aircraft it didn't affect me as it never got to be a requirement for us.I wonder about some aspects of the F-22. In a procurement class I was taking a representative of the F-22 SPO said that the SPO chief and his deputy decided to see what mechanics have to put up with and changed the engine on an F-15. As a result they vowed there would be NO use of safety wire on the F-22. Now, I am no good at safety wiring and I never had class on how to do it properly. I can't even make it look good with being ineffective. But I am quite sure that I know more about safety wiring on an aircraft than those guys did. True, getting holes stuck in your hands is no fun but it is an inexpensive practice, even though it sometimes takes me three times to get it even close to being right. So how much did the taxpayers have to pay for an alternative method just because some guys who did not know what they were doing got their fingers stuck?
Hire back the guys who built the BUFF, which is neither Fat nor Ugly.
I have one of those and still use them on my airplane and recently for other things as well. I have them here at home right now because I have gotten so irritated at trying to find the right size spring clips that secure the fuel hose on lawnmowers that I have started using safety wire instead. And on the airplane there are spots where those screw clamps for hoses will not fit but the safety wire does just fine.I've still got a pair of safety pliers - the ones that locked onto the wire and spun themselves as you pulled out the center rod.
Fortunately for me, I'm on the right end. Go Boeing!It wasn't fat, you're right, pretty slender -- but if you were on the wrong end, there was nothing pretty about it. A three-ship flight carrying 51 750-lb bombs apiece could put a piece of shrapnel into every square yard of a space one mile wide and three miles long, so our aircrew told us.
Fortunately for me, I'm on the right end. Go Boeing!
In my USC Masters program in the mid-80's, one particularly interesting professor (who had flown P-51's in WW2 and worked a great deal with the US automotive industry after the war) pointed out that some court cases indicated that companies were going to have to designate a position he described as "The Vice President In Charge of Going to Jail."In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a single felony count of conspiracy to commit fraud
Its not about the people hired, its about the pressure put on the people to deliver.
The industry has become so competitive, and the airlines want their aircraft built fast.
Anyone who thinks this is a "Boeing" problem, well I've got a Bridge to sell you.
A tentative agreement has been reached between Boeing and the roughly 33,000 machinists that went on strike last month, the union announced Saturday.
"We are finalizing the strike settlement agreement, which will be completed soon, along with additional contract details to provide you with a clear understanding of the offer," the International Association of Machinists (IAM) said in a post on social platform X.
The latest proposal from Boeing includes a 35 percent wage increase over four years and reinstates an incentive pay plan, with a guaranteed minimum annual payout of 4 percent. The union, which represents roughly 600,000 active and retired machinists, said a vote will be held next week for the latest contract negotiations.
Company contributions to workers' 401(k) plans would also increase with the deal, though it does not restore the original pension plan from a decade ago, CNN reported.
Glad they've reached an agreement.
However, how can a "guaranteed minimum annual payout of 4 percent" be deemed an "incentive pay plan"? If I just turn up and do my job I get 4% but if I work my fingers to the bone I may get, what, 5% or 5.25%? I know which path most people would follow. What happens if the company doesn't make a profit? Does Boeing then have to eat itself by continuing to pay 4% minimum to all its machinists? Seems more like a disincentive plan than anything else...unless I'm reading it wrong.
Not yet. The strike settlement agreement needs to be approved by IAM members. Union vote is happening now (23rd).
Social media scuttlebutt is that members are going to reject it - mostly due to killing off some pension plans and no changes to base pay rates for new workers (which are roughly $19-24 per hour, depending on the job). To put that into contect, some striking Boeing workers reported the Amazon warehouse near Boeing Field if offering starting pay rates that are $5 an hour better than what they're getting at Boeing.
The AMPP incentive plan is based around safety, quality and productivity metrics, rather than profitability (basically how many aircraft can you make, with how many defects and without getting caught for unsafe working practices).
Current rates are 3-6% of base pay. Boeing calculates wages as 'Base Pay + General Wage Increase + Cost of Living Adjustment', then bonuses on top. So, if your base is $25 an hour, then AMPP gives you a minimum of $0.75 to $1.50 per hour extra. The bottom end of that would go up to $1 per hour.