SEATTLE--Boeing tells us to be grateful for its seven-year backlog of airplane orders. The truth is that the company won these orders by giving huge discounts. Those discounts, in turn, are driving a war against Boeing's workers.
Boeing's weapon in this war is first aimed at slashing the prices it pays its 100 top suppliers by double-digit percentages over five years. So said Kent Fisher, vice president in charge of supplier management. Supplier– produced components make up 65 percent of the cost of Boeing jets. Boeing now requires direct suppliers to open their financial books.
"We feel strongly [that a] portion of our supply base is earning higher returns [i.e. profits] than is warranted," added Fisher. In a gross understatement, he said, "I'm sure that's an uncomfortable discussion for suppliers."
As "uncomfortable"as this discussion is for these smaller bosses, it is the hundreds of thousands of workers in subcontractor factories that bear the brunt of the attack. The company also demands that lean-management slave drivers from Boeing reorganize production in these job shops.

Racist Attacks Hurt Us All
Black, latin and asian workers make up a disproportionate share of the supplier workforce.
Not only will these workers be sped up, but also many will lose their jobs. Workers in these shops already face lower wages and fewer benefits than workers at Boeing.
COO Paul Hogoboom of a Puyallup, Washington, metal cutting shop gushed about how his company became smarter and leaner after repeated visits by Boeing "efficiency experts." In other words, more exploited and fewer workers produce cheaper parts.
"We should write about this for Red Flag," insisted an outraged Boeing Machinist, knowing that it is only a matter of time before the bosses' machine gun swerves our way.

Capitalism Must Wage War Against Working Class
Even with these discounts Boeing is losing ground against Airbus in new orders this year. Even more frightening for Boeing bosses, China and other manufacturers of commercial jets will be entering the arena when the last planes of this backlog are delivered. Too many producers will have the capacity to produce more planes than the market can bear. The cost pressures can only mount.
The era when Boeing commanded premium prices because of indispensable products and technical superiority is over, reports the Puget Sound Business Journal (10/25). Commercial President Ray Conner confirmed this outlook, demanding even more outsourcing in a video being shown to every crew meeting (see box). Fisher notes "an increased sense of urgency" for Boeing bosses.
That's why CEO McNerney announced a "no-fly list." Suppliers that don't submit to Boeing's demands and increase the exploitation of their workers will not be allowed to bid on Boeing parts.

Put Capitalism On The "No-Fly List"
Discounting future plane orders is Boeing's business plan. Workers in the plants are justifiably furious. "Why would those bastards do that to us?" they ask.
The Boeing bosses aren't greedier than any other bosses. The very nature of capitalist competition, the inevitable crisis of overcapacity (sometimes called the crisis of overproduction) and inter-imperialist rivalry require that they develop such a business plan.
Capitalism demands the bosses drive us into the dirt. The bosses will eventually be forced to resort to war in an attempt to eliminate their competition, but even "peaceful capitalism" means war on us.

We Need a Communist Revolution
To win this war, we workers must eliminate the material basis for capitalist competition and racism. We must end production for sale and profit.
We must start to produce planes and everything else based on the needs of our class. Production for need will end not only competition between bosses, but bosses themselves.
Even more importantly communist production will eliminate competition between workers. Communist production welcomes helping hands in our common struggle to master the forces of nature. If it's war we must fight, than let's fight to win by mobilizing the masses for communism

Communism on Their Minds:

SEATTLE--Boeing's corporate business plan to impoverish us in order to discount planes in their backlog is just now coming to light. We've been in a number of lengthy discussions at work on what all this means. Here is the gist of just two. As you can see, the struggle to build a communist movement plays a major part in our thoughts.
"They [the bosses] are planning out the calamity," said the first machine operator after watching Commercial Airplane President Ray Conner's video at his crew meeting. We had just finished discussing Boeing's business plan and the crisis of overproduction barreling down the tracks.
"But there has to be something out there for us," he added.
"Why do you think that?" asked a comrade.
"Because then there is nothing."
"Exactly! There is nothing for us under capitalism."
"You're probably right. The rich people and executives will ride it out … if they don't get shot. I actually think things will get bad enough that a revolution will come." It turned out the real question was not about revolution in general, but about building for a revolution that changes the material basis of society with communist production. He is not ready to take the next step because he is not used to thinking in these terms. We have to change this.

The next worker cut to the chase. After reading the draft Red Flag article, he highlighted the sentence, "We must end production for sale and profit."
"How do you do that?" he asked. We discussed substituting masses mobilized for communism for the profit motive. We examined how the factory would look different under communism. We traced the development of production from slave societies to feudal societies to capitalism. We talked how the union, in which he is active, supports capitalism and has no answers. After all this we started to wander down the aisle to avoid the bosses' eyes and ears.
"That's true. We've been brought up to believe this is the only way production can be organized. But to change that you'll have to go up against the government, the corporations," he said. "When I was young and in the Black Panthers we always talked about when the revolution comes, but it's still not here."
He agreed the ICWP has a different version of revolution: one that changes the material basis of society: eliminates sale, profit and money.
"Look, I've seen how the capitalist government works. They'll kill a few and the rest will back off.'
"Did they back off in South Africa after they killed 34 miners? Did they back off in Egypt? Or Brazil?" asked our comrade. "Workers can't live in the old way. The problem here isn't the courage of the working class. The problem is what are we fighting for."
"Yeah, but U.S. workers have been taught that communism is such a bad thing you'll never get enough to make a revolution. Maybe the workers in their twenties will be more open. There's a whole lost generation without a chance under capitalism."
"That's true," our comrade agreed, "but to be honest we're not that much different than the other workers here. If we can see the value of communism, so can others." "Now is the time to add our grain of sand. Take a few more papers to distribute! I'll bring them over." With that we had to part. We couldn't stand in the aisle forever.

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