Updated May 14, 2012
STEM grants available for school programs

To raise awareness and encourage the next generation of engineers and technical workers, the SPEEA Northwest Council provides grants to programs related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through grants. 

Grant eligibility

• Non-profit organization or institution (ex. schools)
• Program or event must have a connection to science, technology, engineering or math (ex. robotics teams)
• At least one Northwest SPEEA member must participate as a coach, mentor, or parent.

How to apply

• Complete application online or mail to: SPEEA Headquarters, ATTN: STEM Grant Application,
  15205 52nd Ave. S, Seattle, WA 98188.
  
  
• Deadline to apply: Wednesday, Aug. 15.

A committee of members and Northwest Council officers will review the requests and make recommendations for the Council Reps to vote. Last year, the NW Council voted to sponsor 14 high school robotic teams and four other STEM outreach activities.

May 23, 2012 - IFPTE Convention
Election results for VPs and convention delegates

Congratulations to the winners of the SPEEA-IFPTE elections. The SPEEA NW & MW Tellers validated and counted ballots May 23 with help from volunteers.

A total of 23 members ran for either the 12 delegate seats for the convention or three vice president seats. Some candidates sought both offices.

The delegates will represent SPEEA at the convention, July 16-19 in Las Vegas, which draws hundreds of
IFPTE members from across the country.

The SPEEA-area IFPTE vice presidents will be formally elected by delegates at the convention to three-year terms. They will be responsible for communicating SPEEA's concerns and priorities to the Executive Board officers.

The candidates are listed below in ballot order with vote counts. Winners' names are in bold.

Spirit to pay SPEEA-represented during work stoppage

WICHITA - Spirit AeroSystems Wednesday agreed to continue paying SPEEA-represented employees their regular salary regardless of time worked for two weeks in the wake of the operations shutdown that resulted from Saturday's tornado.

The resolution of the pay issue comes after several days of pressure from SPEEA officials. The agreement, a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU), was formalized by a vote of the SPEEA Executive Board after approval by the Midwest Council officers and Wichita Engineering Unit Negotiation Team.

Retroactive to Saturday, April 14, the agreement states Spirit: "... commits to pay active SPEEA-represented employees their regular weekly salary regardless of time worked (at their current rate of pay and any pay differential applied on the last day worked before April 14, 2012)." Read the Memorandum Of Understanding.

Employees remain "on-call" but should only report to work if called and asked to report to work by their manager.

"There is a lot of damage," said SPEEA Contract Administrator BJ Moore after visiting the plant Tuesday. "Because of safety issues we were unable to enter the buildings."

Spirit officials said resumption of operations will be staggered, depending on the damage to individual work areas. Spirit is posting updates online for employees at Spirit Operations Update.

SPEEA-represented employees at Boeing Wichita returned to work Wednesday. Boeing employees will be paid for the missed time. Suspension of plant operations is covered under Section 8 of Boeing’s “Paid Time Away from Work” policy. Employees returning to work at Boeing need to enter from 47th Street by the G-lot driveway or the Lake entrance. Additional information is posted on the Boeing emergency website. Watch the SPEEA website for important updates.