Joining the IAM 751 Machinists on the picket line the first day were workers from the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which has over 10,000 members who work at Boeing. These workers continue working during the Machinists’ strike, but will refuse to do the machinists’ production jobs.
Other unions like the United Auto Workers and the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) joined the machinists in a general uproar of chanting and horn honking as the strike kicked off.
The Machinists are joining the rising tide of a revitalized movement both in the U.S. and internationally. The working class is being pushed to the wall by the bosses, but these workers have a perspective of unity and struggle and a growing class-consciousness to take a great leap forward against capital.