The Boeing Company this week told union negotiators that it intends to deny pension survivor benefits to married same-sex couples, even though Washington State voters approved a marriage equality law earlier this month, according to a report in The Stranger.
Ray Goforth, Executive Director of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001, said his union has long sought equal pension benefits for same-sex domestic partners, but that Boeing’s refusal to offer the benefits “says to employees that they can be discriminated against based on who they are.”
“Their answer was that they had no intention of granting pension survivor benefits to legally married same-sex couples because they didn’t have to,” Goforth said.
Boeing representatives told him that pensions are governed by federal law, which doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage, thereby trumping the state law on the matter.
Surrendering to negative press reports, Boeing issued a statement that it plans to take “a closer look at how R-74 might impact company policies once it takes effect in December.”
R-74 (Referendum 74) was the November ballot initiative approved by voters that affirmed the state legislature’s passage of a marriage equality bill that was signed by Gov. Chris Gregoire earlier this year.
“Nothing is ever final in negotiations until they’re over,” a company spokesperson told The Stranger. “What we said today is that (these pension benefits) are not currently addressed in the contract.”
Boeing, one of the largest global aircraft manufacturers in the world, employs more than 82,000 workers in Washington state, and more than 174,000 worldwide.
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Fuck Boeing.. Haha I never flew them anywhore.
wait till doma is tossed out and lets see them say that
See ya in court! :)
thats okay i have 2 G5′s in my backyard
let me guess it was a man that came up with that concept.
How can we boycott Boeing. What jerks.
o.k. A flying asshole company.
WTF?!?!?
I won’t fly them ever then.
Unfortunately the same could be said of most employers
WTF Boeing?
@Ioannis..better yet it was a married man with a woman on the side (or man).
idga flying F^%$ lol
Booo-Boeing . .. Boooo-Hissssssss . . .. . . .. . …ssssssssss … .
Wtf? That’s disgusting! :-@
Smh. Why must companies think they can trump the people?
That is just wrong!
if the law only excludes “religious” groups, they won’t have a choice in WA state (or any other state w/ same sex marriage laws. last I heard Boeing made airplanes, not Bibles! wonder what the unions will say about it….
This is why we MUST repeal DOMA.
This is just one more reason that Federal legislation is needed to ensure absolute American citizen rights for all gay Americans.
o_O How does ones gender preference have to do with their airplanes? Everyone’s the same specie when getting on the plane!!
Bad karma Boeing. That decision will come back to bite them in the tail.
I am wondering now what kinds of fines they face
for breaking the law?
It’s about the money – they don’t want to spend it. They would deny all of trhem if they could.
Post a note on all the airlines that you are a customer of on their Facebook or Twitter feed asking them to demand Boeing, from which they buy their air crafts, to give their employees in same-sex relationships equal treatment as the rest.
FUCK ! Boeing…. ! There ASS HOLES ! Homophobes
Shame on them. Disgusting
Gender preference has everything to do with everything in some minds.
boycott them into the ground.
The question is whether they are indeed true asshats OR is this a sly way of supporting the repeal of DOMA? The real answer is real of DOMA.
why do people even care? its saddening that we can elect a black president and legalize marajuana but cant seem to let people have equal rights in this day and age. companies like this and chic-fil-a will have their karma in time.
I think an antigay stance of any kind these days, hurts your company
well i just cant wait to see them bankrupt
I think there was a typo. It was meant to say Boeing wants lawsuits from same-sex couples.
we should all have equal rights and guarantees no matter who our partner is.
my wifes insurance isnt covering me they denied us and we r in a state that allows same sex benefits.
This is wrong. One day they will fall. They will lose one day and we will laugh at them. Gays will win in the end. Mark my words.
I couldn’t help it…had to e-mail Boeing and say this…I put my comments under financial because that may very well be where the company is headed…in financial trouble. The problem is I just read an article that says your company doesn’t believe in pension benefits for same sex married couples and will deny any employee these benefits. See the problem is under certain state laws that allow for same sex marriage you will now be looking at about every imaginable lawsuit from same sex couples. I myself being gay will not in any way, shape, or form give my money or have positive things about Boeing to say to anyone…and you know how that goes..word gets out and one thing leads to the next. Afterall the Boy Scouts of America have lost many companies trust and willingness to donate money to their organization because of the discrimination against anyone gay …including losing their top two companies they relied on for donations which is in the millions. I honestly don’t write this to you to be a you know what or to look like a smart one but these ideas and practices really do make people think companies such as yourselves don’t care about everyone who works for Boeing and everyone who lives in the United States. I hope the small town kid from Iowa who just wrote this may hopefully make a difference in how Boeing sees this issue.
Really Boeing, gay people deserve the same benefits as staright people.
Boeing… WHat is that sound? THe sound of your reputation dropping even further….
This is no different than if Boeing announced it would deny benefits to interracial couples or interfaith couples or african american couples or latino couples or asian couples. It is quite clearly Anti-American bigotry and racism. There is one simple solution – no more government contracts or taxpayer support until Boeing treats ALL American citizens fairly.
Steve, that is a great idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Assholes
Just so wrong
I agree that Boeing should have covered SSM couples before. However, had most of you read the article, the company spokesman stated that they have to look at the law regarding SSM again and that it’s not over yet. So calm down, they are taking another look.
Boeing you aren’t phobic. Your just assholes. I love my wife.
WTF? What are you thinking Boeing? When will companies do the right thing by there employees? Of course we need unions!
They don’t need to take a second look to do what’s right.
wow
One more reason we need Federal Protection for All Married Couples, no matter the gender.
Take your benefits and shove them.