STRIKING machinists at Boeing will vote Wednesday on a new contract proposal that includes a 35-percent pay hike over four years that could end a costly five-week-old strike, the company and union said Sunday.
Around 33,000 of Boeing’s unionized West Coast workers, most in Washington state, have been on strike since September 13. The work stoppage has halted production of the planemaker’s best-selling 737 MAX and its 767 and 777 widebodies, putting added pressure on the company’s already fragile finances.
The latest offer includes a $7,000 ratification bonus, a reinstated incentive plan and enhanced contributions to workers’ 401(k) retirement plans, including a one-time $5,000 contribution plus up to 12 percent in employer contributions, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 751 said.
Striking Boeing workers in Seattle on Oct. 15, 2024. REUTERS
Boeing said Sunday it looks “forward to our employees voting on the negotiated proposal.” Still there is no guarantee workers will approve the offer after they overwhelmingly rejected an initial proposal. “The future of this contract is in your hands,” the union told workers Sunday.
Earlier in the week, the US Chamber of Commerce pleaded on social media site X for the two sides to reach an agreement that would put an end to the stoppage, which is rippling through the industry, leading Boeing suppliers like Spirit AeroSystems to announce furloughs.
Boeing on October 8 withdrew its enhanced offer that included a 30-percent wage increase over four years after talks also attended by federal mediators broke down. The union has been seeking a 40-percent hike and restoration of a defined benefit pension, which was not offered in the new contract proposal.
Two senior union officials in Seattle told Reuters they believed the members would vote in favor of the deal, although they expected a backlash from older workers who were demanding a defined-benefit pension be reinstated by Boeing.
In September, nearly 95 percent of the West Coast workers rejected a tentative agreement offering a 25-percent pay rise over four years that had been endorsed by union officials, prompting the strike.
That first tentative deal also had a $3,000 signing bonus, which some Boeing workers told Reuters was too low, given that prior deals had bonuses of at least $5,000.
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