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Boeing workers vote to strike

washingtonpost.com

241–250 of 578 posts

Re: Boeing workers vote to strike

#241
post #232
post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I seriously wonder how long it would take for a team of engineers to produce a competitive commercial airplane, from planning to the first prototype, if they started right now. Also, is it viable to produce something like the A320 in low quantities when airlines need fleets in the hundreds?

I remember reading that one engineer spent 6 years designing „ventilation for seats 40-80” on one of the larger Airbuses. It seems like the amount of design and engineering work required for a prototype of a complete aircraft (assuming you buy the engines) is just immense.

How much of that time was actual engineering-tradeoff decision-making and how much of that was working in a large corporation with abundant communication overhead?

Re: Boeing workers vote to strike

#242
post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boeing engineers should leave and start their own company. "American dynamism" is hot right now and there should be ample funding available. Lots of the old dinosaurs are being nipped at by nimble upstarts like Anduril.

I seriously wonder how long it would take for a team of engineers to produce a competitive commercial airplane, from planning to the first prototype, if they started right now. Also, is it viable to produce something like the A320 in low quantities when airlines need fleets in the hundreds?

Why? Have the government step in, nationalize Boeing, give the union a board seat, and keep shipping. The problem is Boeing management and their board enabling the train wreck; don't build from scratch, refactor.

Re: Boeing workers vote to strike

#243
post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not really sure this framing makes any sense if I’m being honest.

What private corporation could make mistakes where people lose their lives on the same scale while still operating as normal afterwards?

Monsanto, Nestlé, J&J, the whole tobacco industry, the companies that made asbestos, talidomide, etc.

Re: Boeing workers vote to strike

#244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People dying due to profit-motivated corporate negligence and the corporations in question getting a slap on the wrist? Must be a day ending in "y."

There must be a billion corporations out there. What % can kill customers on the scale of Boeing and get away with it? A tiny number. And for the ones that can, it’s likely that there are strong ties to the same government that’s supposed to prosecute them. For Boeing, there are significant financial and contractual ties to the US government. Having a steady stream of ultra-reliable government cash surely reminds you…

Boeing is one of those "billions" corporations.

Some are even immortalized in Oscar-winning movies. See e.g. the disasters section here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Gas_and_Electric_Compa...

Re: Boeing workers vote to strike

#245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering the US hasn't won a single war against technologically and numerically inferior opponents since the turn of the century, I think we have even more fundamental problems than just a rusty war machine dependent on Chinese blue jeans. Now granted I might be unfair to the US here; the Middle East is known as the graveyard of empires for a reason.

The US clearly choose to lose all wars lost though. The military was doing just fine, but the people back home got sick of the efforts.

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Re: Boeing workers vote to strike

#246
post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not really sure this framing makes any sense if I’m being honest.

What private corporation could make mistakes where people lose their lives on the same scale while still operating as normal afterwards?

Maybe do a search for "most dangerous jobs"?

Re: Boeing workers vote to strike

#247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering the US hasn't won a single war against technologically and numerically inferior opponents since the turn of the century, I think we have even more fundamental problems than just a rusty war machine dependent on Chinese blue jeans. Now granted I might be unfair to the US here; the Middle East is known as the graveyard of empires for a reason.

The US clearly choose to lose all wars lost though. The military was doing just fine, but the people back home got sick of the efforts.

When the participation trophy generation grows up and becomes generals you'll hear things like, we would've won that war if it wasn't for all that attrition!

Re: Boeing workers vote to strike

#248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not a great plan if what they're looking for is a higher salary though. Engineering in western Europe doesn't pay nearly as well as in the US.

Yes but Toulouse is way cheaper than any Tier 1 city in the US and you have to include insurance/health, school cost in the US (I'm from Toulouse and living in the US for more than 10 years). If you make 250k/year in Tier 1 city in the US it's probably as good as making 80k/year in Toulouse.

Don't Boeing engineers also get insurance and 401k from their employer?

Plus, they'd have to learn french also. France is not very accommodating to non French speaking foreigners. Trying to get around in life with just English there outside of Paris is not easy.

Re: Boeing workers vote to strike

#249
post #171
post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Boeing spent $43B on stock buybacks I am very sympathetic to this line of criticism but I also find that "stock buybacks" are misunderstood and, as a result, overly demonized. So I just want to explain a few things for anyone who reads this. The question with a corporation is what to do with surplus profits. The first iteration of this was to pay dividends. These legally are paid equally among shareholders. If you…

My understanding of stating this figure was to highlight that the cash to pay employees reasonably exists, its just being spent elsewhere...

Correct.
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