Joel Funfar, chair
Plant II Council Rep
A second-generation SPEEA member, Joel Funfar learned from his father: “When you join Boeing, you join SPEEA.” Joel took that advice, joining the union on his first day at The Boeing Company in 1991. He became more involved with SPEEA while serving as a picket captain coordinator during the 40-day strike in 2000. His activism hasn’t let up.
Besides serving as a Council Rep and as SPEEA Council chair, Joel served as the Northwest Council secretary and chair and SPEEA Council secretary and was a member of the Tech Negotiation Team for the 2008 contract. He’s also involved with a number of committees.
Joel believes unions benefit both workers and employers, but it requires active engagement on both sides to make the relationship work most effectively.
He said SPEEA activists he
knew, including Stephen Pezzini and Dan Hartley, inspired him. He wants to do the same for others.
Beyond Joel’s direct involvement with SPEEA, he works with Aviation High School and other community and labor organizations. For his efforts, SPEEA presented Joel the 2009 Stephen Pezzini Helping Other People Excel (H.O.P.E.) award.
Born in Rapid City, S.D., where his father did field work for Boeing, Joel moved to the Northwest at an early age. He attended Green River Community College in Auburn, Wash. He currently works for Boeing as a test and evaluation lab technician.
Living in Enumclaw, Wash., Joel enjoys music, car racing and history, particularly World War II and aviation history.
Matthew Joyce, treasurer
Wichita Council Rep
Matthew Joyce joined SPEEA because of his desire to have a hand in deciding his own future and help others do the same.
Since joining SPEEA in 2003, when he started work at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), Matthew has actively promoted the interests of members, including serving on the Boeing IDS Wichita Engineering Unit (WEU) negotiation team in 2005 and co-chairing the Spirit WEU negotiation team in 2009.
Matthew changed jobs and companies in 2006, going to work at Spirit AeroSystems. The move across the street allowed him to maintain his SPEEA membership and involvement. Elected SPEEA Council treasurer in 2011, Matthew is serving his second terms as Midwest Council treasurer, Spirit WEU bargaining unit Council chair and vice-chair of the Midwest Governing Documents committee.
He graduated in 1991 from Kansas State University, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. Matthew started his career at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, working there for four years, and then briefly worked for Cessna before coming back to Boeing IDS in Wichita.
Outside of SPEEA, Matthew serves his community by volunteering at various schools in the district and serves on the USD 260 Derby School Board of Education. He also serves on the board of the Spirit Good Neighbor Fund, which supports health and human services organizations in the region with employee contributions.
He lives in Derby, Kan. with his wife, Kim and his daughters, Addison and Mayah. In his free time, Matthew enjoys fishing, skiing and fixing things, working with wood and building projects, such as a backyard clubhouse for his daughters.
Theryl Johnson, secretary
Kent Council Rep
While Theryl “TJ” Johnson was working with other companies during a stint between jobs at Boeing, she said one of the things she really missed was union representation.
TJ joined SPEEA when she first hired on as a manufacturing test engineer at Boeing in 1984. After a decade and a half with the company, she left to explore other options. She did contract work for six years before returning to Boeing and rejoining SPEEA in 2005.
Since 2005, TJ served on the SPEEA Governing Documents Committee and chaired the Northwest Governing Documents and SPEEA Diversity committees. She also served as a labor representative on the Seattle Vocational Institute Advisory Board.
TJ appreciates the checks and balances unions provide between employees and management and the added benefits that come with a SPEEA-negotiated contract. She wants to make sure SPEEA continues to work for fair treatment and compensation for its members during contract negotiations.
Born and raised in Lake Charles, La., TJ studied at Southern University in Baton Rouge. She came to the Pacific Northwest for her job with Boeing.
She now works as a software verification engineer at the Boeing facility in Kent, Wash.
TJ lives in Seattle and enjoys hiking, watching sports, reading and playing piano in her free time.
Dave Silkroski, chair
Developmental Center Council Rep
Dave Silkroski’s membership in SPEEA dates back to the 1977. His union background goes back even further. His father was a union member, and Dave was in a steelworkers union before joining the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.
When Dave left the Navy, he joined The Boeing Company. He served on the 1980 Prof Negotiation Team and was a longtime Area Rep before becoming a Council Rep in 2003. He has also served on the Ombudsman Committee.
Dave believes it’s important for SPEEA to represent all members, regardless of their experience or age and to make sure everyone’s needs are met.
Born in Baden, Pa., Dave earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electronic and computer engineering at the University of Pittsburgh and Cogswell College before obtaining a master’s in engineering management from Washington State University.
He worked in a number of departments throughout his Boeing career, and currently works in testing and evaluation on the 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) program in Seattle.
Dave lives in Bellevue, Wash., with his wife, Nancy. He has two grown sons, and enjoys golf, playing and refereeing soccer, and playing with his black lab, Chance.
Carrie Rule, treasurer
Kent Council Rep
Carrie Rule jokes that SPEEA comes up in conversation at her house “more than it probably should.” She and her husband, Ryan, SPEEA Northwest regional vice-president, are both active in the union.
“We have a lot of the same views, so at least we’re not arguing about it,” she said, laughing. “But [SPEEA] probably takes up more of our conversation than work itself.”
Since joining SPEEA in 2006, Carrie served as Northwest Council secretary and as a member of several committees, including Women’s Advocacy, Northwest Governing Documents, and New Hire.
Because SPEEA is a member-run union, Carrie said getting as many members as possible involved in the decision-making process is crucial to the union’s success.
Carrie is presently studying for her third master’s degree in software engineering at Seattle University. She earned her other two master’s degrees, in applied mathematics and computer science, as well as a bachelor’s degree in math, from the University of Missouri-Rolla, now known as the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Throughout her career, Carrie has worked at the USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics, in finance at Boeing, and in the Boeing flight test department before moving to her current job with the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) program in Kent, Wash.
Besides work and school responsibilities, Carrie said taking care of her kids, “a 16-year-old who is learning how to drive and a four-month-old learning how to put things in her mouth,” occupies most of her time.
Rebekah Hewitt, secretary
Harbour Pointe Council Rep
Becky Hewitt didn’t know too much about SPEEA when she hired on with Boeing and joined the union in 2004. Neither did many of her peers, many of whom questioned what their union dues were providing them in return.
“I got tired of my friends and people in my age group asking, ‘what does SPEEA do for us?’” she said. “So I decided to find out.” Becky discovered the value SPEEA provides in articulating workers’ needs to the company and helping to ensure those needs are met.
Becky became a Council Rep in May 2009 and quickly became more involved, serving on numerous committees, including New Hire, Organizational Planning, Negotiation Prep., SPEEA Diversity and both the SPEEA and Northwest Legislative and Public Affairs committees.
Her priorities for SPEEA include more active membership, successful negotiations, and a healthy and productive relationship with Boeing.
Born in Fond du Lac, Wis., Becky moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in aeronautics and astronautics. Boeing hired her after college, and she now works as a systems security engineer on the KC-46 tanker program.
Becky lives in Seattle with her husband, Brandon, a fellow Boeing employee. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, camping, traveling and playing kickball.
Debbie Logsdon, chair
Wichita Council Rep
Debbie Logsdon was part of the successful SPEEA Wichita Technical and Professional Unit (WTPU) organizing campaign in 2000. She pointed to benefit takeaways and management issues as reasons why “it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see we needed a union.” Her personal experience with management was particularly motivating.
“About 90% of managers down here are good, but you have maybe that 10% who aren’t,” Debbie said. “I definitely had one of the 10 percent. Life was a living hell.”
Debbie continues to provide leadership in the union, serving terms as Midwest chair, Midwest treasurer, and Midwest Legislative and Public Affairs Committee chair.
She said SPEEA helps ensure employees, who are so vital to the success of their companies, get appropriately recognized and rewarded.
“There’s a reason Boeing and Spirit sell so many airplanes,” she said. “It’s because they’ve got skilled, experienced workers who deserve to share in the company’s success. Sometimes we have to remind them of that.”
Debbie attended Wichita State and Friends University, graduating with a degree in business.
She has spent over 31 years between Boeing and Spirit, working initially in engineering before moving to information technology.
Debbie lives in Douglass, Kan., with her husband, Don, a retired Boeing manager. They have two children, James and Lucy. In her spare time, Debbie enjoys reading, shopping and travel. She is active in local politics.
Matthew Joyce, treasurer
Wichita Council Rep
See bio in SPEEA Council treasurer section.
Brenda Reiling, Midwest Council secretary
Wichita Council Rep
Brenda Reiling has been a SPEEA member since the WTPU became a SPEEA bargaining unit in 2000. Throughout her 15 years at Boeing, to that point, she had seen and experienced inequities that convinced her joining a union was “the right thing to do.”
“Joining a union is one way that employees can have a bigger voice,” she stated. “Union membership means employees can use their collective voice and strength to resolve problems rather than trying to go it alone.”
Serving on the 2011 WTPU Negotiation Team, Brenda has helped give employees that voice. She also serves on numerous committees, including SPEEA Leadership Development and Training, Diversity and Midwest Recruitment.
Brenda would like to see increased membership in Wichita, so the union can have more leverage to meet the needs of represented employees.
After studying journalism at Wichita State University, Brenda completed her associate’s in information systems at Cowley College, a bachelor’s degree in organization management and leadership at Friends University, and she recently earned a master’s in business from the University of Phoenix.
Brenda has 26 years combined experience at Boeing and Spirit, and currently works as a business systems analyst in Information Technology.
Born in Wichita and raised in Derby, she now lives in Belle Plaine, Kan. In between raising three children and two grandchildren, she enjoys traveling - when she can convince her husband to spend some time away from the farm.
|
Custom Search