The union representing Boeing's engineers has filed an unfair labor practices charge against the company which it claimed photographed members marching at the Everett plant to support talks for a new contract. The complaint was filed on January 2, 2013 by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001.
The specific charges relates to Boeing taking surveillance photographs of engineers and technical employees marching inside and outside the factory on Dec. 12 and after. Employer surveillance of union activities has consistently been ruled illegal because it has a tendency to intimidate employees into not exercising their rights to engage in union activities. SPEEA and Boeing are scheduled to resume negotiations on Jan. 9. Federal mediators called for a break in talks before the holidays. The two sides started meeting in April to negotiate new contracts for 23,000 engineers and technical workers. In October, engineers rejected Boeing's initial offer by 95.5%. Technical workers rejected the company's offer by 97%. Existing contracts expired Nov. 25.