After weeks of negotiations between the parties directly, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service began observing negotiations between Boeing (BA -0.45%) and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace this week. On Wednesday, FMCS called for a temporary halt to the talks.
FMCS asked both sides to suspend negotiations over the SPEEA collective bargaining agreement until "after the first of the year." Both Boeing and SPEEA have agreed to the request. The FMCS statement posted by both Boeing and the SPEEA contained no reasoning for the move.
In a statement Tuesday, SPEEA, which represents some 23,000 Boeing employees, said it had made multiple overtures to Boeing regarding such issues as limiting mandatory overtime, revising the seniority system governing layoffs, and providing for maternity and paternity leave in its contract, along with, of course, changes to the pay structure for union employees.
