Boeing Pay Policy Investigated

The state Department of Labor and Industries is investigating The Boeing Co.'s policy of not paying newly hired workers for their first day on the job because it is an orientation session.

The Seattle Professional Engineering Employees Association (SPEEA), which represents 28,500 Boeing engineers and technicians, requested the investigation last week.

SPEEA officials contend that new engineers and technicians should receive a full day's pay for attending an eight-hour orientation program at which identification badges are distributed, insurance forms filled out and work rules and company philosophy reviewed.

Instead, the new hires get no pay. It follows a Boeing policy dating back at least 10 years and one the company continues to practice, said Damian King, SPEEA spokesman.

Boeing spokesman Russ Young said the company does not consider the daylong orientation program "time worked" and has never paid any new hires for attending the session.

Using computer records, the union has compiled a list of 5,700 workers hired in the past two years who were not paid for attending the orientation day, King said. At an average daily salary of $100, it could cost Boeing $570,000 to make good, he said.

However, depending on the results of the state investigation, it could cost Boeing a lot more. Since bottoming out in 1983, Boeing has added more than 40,000 new jobs and replaced tens of thousands of employees who retired or left. The company, which has about 105,000 workers, is cutting 6,500 jobs this year but plans to add 10,000 jobs over the next few years as the new 777 jetliner comes into production.

"Our view is we've satisfied all the relevant labor laws," Young said. "We also feel there is applicable case law that supports our position. We've met with SPEEA, we've listened to their concerns and explained our stance; if any further discussion is required, we're willing to defend our position."

Boeing typically requires new employees to show up for orientation day on Tuesday or Thursday, then report to their assigned jobs on Friday, the first day of the company's two-week pay period, King said. The employees' first paycheck covers the pay period but not the orientation day.

"The policy covers all employees, represented by organized labor or not," Young said. "It has been that way as long as anybody can remember, including one employee I talked to who has been here 40 years."

SPEEA officials protested the policy in April when union President Charles Bofferding twice met with Robert DeLappe, Boeing's corporate director of labor relations, and Doug Kight, a Boeing lawyer.

King said DeLappe and Kight offered two reasons: the time spent in orientation was not considered work under state and federal guidelines, and even it were, the compensation due would be the minimum wage.

"I don't think it is very fair. I was here doing what the company wanted me to do," said a draftsman on the Boeing 747-400 program. "I could use the money now, and I could've sure used it then.

"The company's got you behind the eight ball and they use it against you," said the draftsman. "They know you need the job more than you need to gripe about eight hours of pay."

After Boeing officials failed to respond to Bofferding's questions, SPEEA asked the Department of Labor and Industries to investigate.

A spokesman for the state agency was not immediately available for comment.