As the IAM 751 Boeing Machinists’ strike heads into its third week, their fight to restore Boeing as a stable workplace appears to be working, as public opinion is on the workers’ side and Boeing has already improved their contract offer. But even so, there’s no telling how long this will last.
As you’ll see below, there are seven main ways to support a strike, but every strike is different. We talked to folks at IAM, and the groups that are supporting them, to figure out how people can best back them up.
1. Picket lines—be a body.
Presence is the key word for picket lines. When a strike is called, many unions assign picket line shifts to their workers and rely on the rest of the line to be filled out by volunteer picketers both in and out of the union. But typically, as the weeks go on, folks show up less often and this physical presence wanes.
If you can donate a couple hours of your time, head to your nearest picket line and check in. Here's a complete list of picket locations below, but if it’s all the same to you, I’m told the Seattle lines could use your help a little more than most.
- Seattle: 9125 15th Place S, Seattle, WA 98108
- Everett: 2407 106th St SW, Everett, WA 98204
- Renton: 233 Burnett Ave N, Renton, WA 98057
- Auburn: 201 A St SW, Auburn, WA 98001
- Fredrickson: Fredrickson Industrial Park Rd E, Puyallup, WA 98375
- Moses Lake/Edwards AFB/Victorville: Main gates
Something to consider: picket lines run 24/7. If you’re a night owl, it’s your time to shine. Stopping by to lend your support during the overnight shifts (12 a.m. to 8 a.m.) will be more meaningful than joining during the day, since picket lines during these hours are typically more lightly attended.
IAM 751 have made it clear that any supporters are welcome, and encourage them to stop by. If you’re too busy and can’t stop, you can still drive by and give a few encouraging honks.
2. Bring filling food. And water.
Picket lines get grueling, fast. It’s always helpful to drop off water, high-protein snacks, and other non-perishable basics, but needs will vary from strike location to strike location and from one day to the next.
IAM asks that before you go (!) call up the picket headquarters you’re attending and ask what they need today. (Hot tip though: On the IAM lines, I’m hearing land jaeger jerky sticks are a hit.)
And if it’s a cold night, picketers use burn barrels to keep themselves warm. So if you’re stopping by to fight the good fight, please bring firewood with you if you can.
3. Offer professional skills
Unions are full operations, with staff trained to provide all different kinds of support for their members. But strikes are 24/7 operations, and these resources get stretched thin. Donating your professional skills is a good way to lighten the load for these frazzled folks.
IAM says that people with food service backgrounds are always needed to volunteer in the kitchens at the strike halls or at the IAM halls. There is also an ongoing need for folks who can do other things like make signs, drive people to and from the picket lines, and respond to the flood of calls and emails from folks like you and media folks like me.
4. Support a strike fund
Unions collect dues in part so they can disburse funds to striking workers, but it’s usually only between $250 and $500, which doesn’t come close to replacing their paychecks. On top of that, striking workers typically don’t qualify for unemployment benefits in Washington, either (though at least one candidate for our state legislature wants to change that). So when a union goes on strike, their people have to cobble together funds with part-time jobs, gig work, and donations to make it through.
If you can spare it, the IAM 751 Hardship Fund provides direct support to strikers “to assist members who may need help during a strike.” Sounds pretty straightforward to me. These striking workers aren’t getting paid right now, and even when their strike pay kicks in next week—which is just $250 a week. It doesn’t go far these days.
5. Boycott
When a striking union helps produce something the public directly consumes, it’s common to ask their supporters to forgo purchases of that item or service for a period of time (think the Starbucks boycott). This can hit the company where it hurts (da freakin’ pocketbooksh) and motivate them to avoid stalling, and make the union a better contract offer. If you want to make sure all of your purchases are labor approved, check out the Union Label “Don’t Buy” List.
But for this strike, there’s nothing you need to stop doing right now. The striking machinists aren’t calling for a boycott of Boeing planes or the airlines that buy them, so if you have plans to fly anytime soon, you won’t be scabbing on your way to chillin’ in Cedar Rapids or whatever.
6. Don’t be a scab!
The whole point of a strike is to show the company how badly they need their workers. Scabbing is when a person steps in to provide that labor the union is withholding. If you support a strike, don’t even think about it.
The greatest concern in this strike would be Boeing asking their engineers to step into the machinists’ jobs. (Like we said in our strike explainer, the engineers design the Lego sets, the machinists put them together.) A bright spot here: although SPEEA says they’re prepared for their engineers to be pressured by Boeing into doing machinists’ work during the strike and has been messaging their members about how to respond, there are no reports of this happening yet.
But needless to say, if you’re approached to fill in for the machinists’ work, say no.
7. Shout your support
Strikes are expensive for companies; Hiring PR teams is even more expensive. If a company feels like the public has turned against them in a labor dispute, they’ll typically dig a little deeper in their pockets and come back to the table with an acceptable contract offer. Beats trying to win back hearts and minds of angry strangers.
Find Boeing on Twitter and Instagram to cyberbully—I mean tell them to pay up. They’re posting through it right now, so you’ve got some freshies, but if you’re looking for a good old post to screech on, this awkward photo op one is pretty fun, with new CEO Kelly Ortberg attempting to serve Regular Guy.
Also, if you’re a union member, the IAM 751 would be emboldened by a statement that supports the machinists’ strike. If you can, bring this up to your fellow members and see if you can provide a formal show of support.
Not in a union? Sign the machinists’ solidarity pledge at Action Network. It takes about ten seconds and might quite literally be the least you can do.
