Communist Work Collectives Put Safety of Our Class First
PUGET SOUND (US)— “Don’t you dare!” warned a long-time Boeing employee. He was talking to a new Boeing worker whose car had flipped over coming down a hill during a recent snowstorm. “You stay home.”
The young worker had hurt his back in the crash. About ten years ago, a friend of ours had died in a similar crash. He was also trying to get to work.
The new worker’s supervisor was pressuring him to come to work. “That damn job will still be there with or without you,” concluded the veteran employee.
This wasn’t just a case of a single rotten supervisor. In 2017, Boeing changed its attendance policy. Now the goal is to “make sure our (i.e., the bosses’) business is fully productive” even during bad weather.
In the past, we could take snow days when roads were unsafe. You wouldn’t get paid, but your absence wouldn’t get you fired or otherwise punished.
The new Boeing culture has “change[d] from absence forgiveness to personal preparedness,” according to the new policy. This includes “starting your commute at least an hour earlier.” That means many of us on day shift will have to get up around 3 AM or earlier.
Even if the schools are closed and you have to take care of your children, that still is no excuse. If you don’t have vacation days left, disciplinary action will follow.
Communism Will Be Different
Since communist production will not be driven by profit, such a policy would be unthinkable. Communist production is organized around cooperative social relations. We produce for our collective need.
This goal will put workers’ safety upfront. It will also prioritize safety of the communities where we live. If most of the 80,000 Boeing workers couldn’t make it to the plants, they would organize to help those in need throughout the Puget Sound area.
At least half dozen died because of the snowstorms. Most were homeless. Nobody will be living on the streets in communism. There will be no rent or mortgages. Everybody will have the shelter we need. Aerospace workers can help with that, too.
A comrade argued for this communist solution in his carpool as it spent hours on the road. For example, Microsoft had a recent publicity event to brag about its $500 million contribution to “affordable housing.” In truth, they are making loans to developers. These developers will build housing that only well-paid Microsoft employees can afford. Building housing for need, not profit, is the only way to solve the housing crisis.
After the snow melted, the company changed course. Workers could get excused (though unpaid) absences for seven days of the most intense snow. On some of these days, almost 75% of the workforce didn’t show up anyway.
Workers were still angry. “What good does that do now?” asked one machinist before a crew meeting. “They [Boeing Management] have already forced us to risk our lives over a damn part.”
But that wasn’t the end of it. Some supervisors demanded that workers fill out a long form justifying their absence. We understood that this was just another coordinated attempt to intimidate us. Whole crews refused to fill it out. Their intimidation campaign has failed for now.
Eighty thousand Boeing workers could do a lot of good, especially in these emergency situations. Instead, we are forced to spend our time fighting just to survive. Communism will unleash a powerful collective force that can literally save lives.
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