One of the most important (and underestimated) influence on our lives is Ch 10 – Politics and the Economy. Most students easily feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable when topics from this chapter are discussed and want to rush through it.

This is the last chapter in this course and – in some sense – the chapter that provides the larger institutional context that allows you to put the pieces together.

I have selected a CASE STUDY that makes it easier to see how your life is being influenced by powers, some of which you can see others which you cannot see. Understanding this environment is not easy BUT IS DO-ABLE! We, you and I, now live in a global environment where challenges are coming from near and far and we are asked to make decisions which are far from ideal.

The CASE STUDY which I have chosen is the case of THE BOEING MACHINIST VOTE.

This case, which just happened last year, is sure to influence ALL of us in this class. In a class this size, there are sure to be students whose direct family members are working for (or have worked for) the Boeing Corporation. Beyond that, ALL of us who live and work in Washington State are influenced by what this company will do in the future.

As such, I now place into YOUR HANDS THE VOTE FOR THE FUTURE: Should you, or should you not accept the new labor contract that the company offered the machinists last month? In this Discussion Board, you will get to cast your vote and state your analysis.

You MUST consider five separate stakeholders in your analysis of the situation:

1) The Boeing company, a private, for-profit corporation, owned by their shareholders, and led by their CEO

2) The International Association of Machinists, the union representing the manufacturing workers who would build the new plane.

3) The Political element, as represented by the WA State governor Jay Inslee and the WA State Legislature and Senator Murray.

4) The tax payers of Washington state who are directly affected by Boeing company paid taxes as well as tax-rebates granted to the company.

5) The rest of the world, that is other States inside the USA who want Boeing to produce the next airplane in their state, and the rest of the world who want to purchase the next generation aircraft, but who can purchase from Boeing or from Airbus (made in Europe).

It does not matter to me, if you are more democrat or more republican, lean in favor of a free market or advocate greater market regulation, consider yourself pro-capital or pro-labor. What matters to me is how well you integrate the material of the articles below into the ideas of this chapter and previous chapters (Hint: especially the chapter on Stratification). I do expect you to read ALL of the articles listed below and to do so carefully. This is not make-work, this is your understanding the forces influencing YOUR life right now and in the next few years to come.

FORMAT:

First Sentence: YOU MUST cast your vote and only have two options:

a- Accept the company proposal for lower wages/benefits in exchange for guaranteed work on the new airplane OR

b – Reject the contract proposal for now, and hope for a better deal in a few years.

IF you choose to accept the deal you then must answer all of these questions:

What is GOOD about voting to cut your pension and your health insurance coverage and the pay-scale of new, incoming workers? Does accepting the deal create a better Washington State/America, that you yourself want to grow up in and raise your children in? What combination of facts and values (You must list them) leads you to argue that taking the deal offered by the company would be the wise decision for the union machinists? Project out the consequences of your choice 15 years into the future – Will Washington State be have less income equality as a result of accepting the deal or more? Make sure to look at your decision from the perspective of all five stakeholder groups.

If you choose to REJECT the deal then you must answer all of these questions:

What is GOOD about turning away a company offer to commit to 10-20 years worth of future employment in the aerospace manufacturing industry? Does rejecting the deal create a better Washington State/America that you yourself want to grow up in and raise your children in? What combination of facts and values (you must list them) leads you to argue that rejecting the deal offered by the company would be a wise decision for the union machinists? Project out the consequences of your choice 15 years into the future – Will Washington State be have less income equality as a result of accepting the deal or more? Make sure to look at your decision from the perspective of all five stakeholder groups.