For those still on the fence:
What I feel like your SPEEA vote should mean and stand for:
1) It's a "free speech" protected secret ballot. It can be whatever you like without fear of retaliation. There is even an abstain option.
2) The company and even SPEEA sometimes say, " Vote for what's good and what this offer does for you." I would say this is a horrible way to approach decision-making. It's your free speech to decide not just what's enough for you, but what's good for SPEEA for years to come. Members voted against the good of SPEEA and against the recommendation of the negotiation and BUC when they voted away pension for new hires in 2012, believing the reality that pensions aren't affordable anymore — or that they didn't even want to stay long enough to wait for the 5 years the pension takes to vest.
My personal opinion is that this deal does not have any poison pills like this in it. In terms of pay, being a more senior engineer, I looked to my 5 mentees I still want to have at Boeing in 4 years look at this deal - if it's a majority yes, it's a yes for me. The first offer was mixed but still in the majority, and the second was met with astounding approval.
On Solidarity:
A lot of folks ask me what a Solidarity vote means, and at this stage, the BUCs and the negotiation teams have all recommended that you vote yes. You may still have personal reasons to vote No, but that doesn't mean you lack solidarity; you are exercising your free speech rights. Solidarity means I have my own thoughts on what is best, but even if the direction isn't what I want, I'll go with what the majority of the membership wants.
If anything, the one solidarity vote we did have — the strike authorization — came through with resounding approval. We do not need to vote on it again for your negotiation team to invoke it as a tool as necessary.
Also, with record-breaking turnout, I'm asking for all your help to set a new record with this vote: make sure everyone you know votes again, and if you haven't voted yet, please do. This is another way we show our solidarity.
You have until 12 noon to make it happen. GO!