Greg Stuhlsatz
Well-Known Member
MACHINISTS' BONUSES WILL BE $61,440 EACH
JERRY SIEBENMARK, The Wichita Eagle
About 4,000 Machinists employed at Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita will get a bonus like no other - $61,440 in cash and stock, to be exact.
That's the final figure Machinists will receive following last week's initial public offering of Spirit's stock, the union said in a release today.
Union officials said the total value of the payout to members - called the Union Equity Program - is $246 million in cash and stock.
The payout was negotiated as part of the collective bargaining agreement between the Machinists and Spirit. The bonus plan was in return for union members agreeing to cuts in wages and benefits.
Spirit was created after Canadian-based Onex Corp. acquired Boeing Wichita' s commercial division in 2005.
"Not only did we preserve jobs in the wake of a major corporate restruct uring, we also negotiated terms that ensured our members would share in the success of the acquiring company," Bob Martinez, Machinists union general vice president, said in a statement.
Here's how the payout works:
-- Before the end of December, each Machinists union member working under the Spirit contract will receive $34,556 in cash, which is 56 percent of the total payout.
-- In March 2007, they will receive the balance of the payout - $26,884, or 44 percent - in stock. They will receive shares of Spirit's Class A common stock at $26 a share, which is the price of Spirit stock at the opening of its IPO.
The stock began trading a week ago Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. It closed Monday at $28.39 a share.
Both the cash and stock payouts are in pre-tax figures. Machinists spokesma n Robert Wood said it's impossible for the union to know how much in taxes will be taken out for each Machinist.
"Everybody in town should be happy about this," Wood said. "The long-term value of having these high-value jobs will help this city, hopefully for years to come."
Reach Jerry Siebenmark at 316-268-6576 or [email protected].
JERRY SIEBENMARK, The Wichita Eagle
About 4,000 Machinists employed at Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita will get a bonus like no other - $61,440 in cash and stock, to be exact.
That's the final figure Machinists will receive following last week's initial public offering of Spirit's stock, the union said in a release today.
Union officials said the total value of the payout to members - called the Union Equity Program - is $246 million in cash and stock.
The payout was negotiated as part of the collective bargaining agreement between the Machinists and Spirit. The bonus plan was in return for union members agreeing to cuts in wages and benefits.
Spirit was created after Canadian-based Onex Corp. acquired Boeing Wichita' s commercial division in 2005.
"Not only did we preserve jobs in the wake of a major corporate restruct uring, we also negotiated terms that ensured our members would share in the success of the acquiring company," Bob Martinez, Machinists union general vice president, said in a statement.
Here's how the payout works:
-- Before the end of December, each Machinists union member working under the Spirit contract will receive $34,556 in cash, which is 56 percent of the total payout.
-- In March 2007, they will receive the balance of the payout - $26,884, or 44 percent - in stock. They will receive shares of Spirit's Class A common stock at $26 a share, which is the price of Spirit stock at the opening of its IPO.
The stock began trading a week ago Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. It closed Monday at $28.39 a share.
Both the cash and stock payouts are in pre-tax figures. Machinists spokesma n Robert Wood said it's impossible for the union to know how much in taxes will be taken out for each Machinist.
"Everybody in town should be happy about this," Wood said. "The long-term value of having these high-value jobs will help this city, hopefully for years to come."
Reach Jerry Siebenmark at 316-268-6576 or [email protected].
