A Boeing Strike Is Looking More Likely. The Union President Expects Workers to Reject Contract Offer

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By Associated Press

Published 4 weeks ago on

September 10, 2024

Boeing workers may reject contract offer, increasing strike risk as union president predicts insufficient support for deal. (AP File)

Union local president expects 33,000 Boeing workers to vote against contract offering 25% raises over four years.
Potential strike would shut down production but not immediately affect consumers or result in canceled flights.
Boeing faces additional setbacks as it grapples with $27 billion in losses since 2019 and manufacturing challenges.

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SEATTLE – The risk of a strike at Boeing appears to be growing, as factory workers complain about a contract offer that their union negotiated with the giant aircraft manufacturer.

The president of the union local that represents 33,000 Boeing workers predicted that they will vote against a deal that includes 25% raises over four years and a promise that the company’s next new airplane will be built by union members in Washington state.

“The response from people is, it’s not good enough,” Jon Holden, the president of the union local, told The Seattle Times newspaper.

Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in the Seattle area and machinists at other locations in Washington and California are scheduled to vote Thursday on the Boeing offer and, if they reject it, whether to go on strike beginning Friday.

Workers Express Dissatisfaction with Contract Offer

Union members have gone on social media to complain about the deal. Hundreds protested during a lunch break at their plant in Everett, Washington, chanting, “Strike! Strike! Strike!” according to the Seattle Times.

Holden, who joined the union bargaining committee in unanimously endorsing the contract, told the newspaper he doesn’t believe he can secure the votes to ratify the proposed contract.

Boeing did not immediately respond when asked for comment.

Impact of Potential Strike on Boeing and Consumers

Unlike strikes at airlines, which are very rare, a walkout at Boeing would not have an immediate effect on consumers. It would not result in any canceled flights. It would, however, shut down production and leave Boeing with no jets to deliver to the airlines that ordered them.

On Sunday, the company and the union local, IAM District 751, announced they had reached a tentative agreement that featured the 25% wage hike and would avoid a suspension of work on building planes, including the 737 Max and the larger 777 widebody jet.

The deal fell short of the union’s initial demand for pay raises of 40% over three years and restoration of traditional pensions that were eliminated in union concessions a decade ago. Workers would get $3,000 lump-sum payments, increased contributions to retirement accounts and the commitment about working on the next Boeing airplane.

Union Leadership’s Stance and Boeing’s Challenges

Holden said in a message to members Monday, “We have achieved everything we could in bargaining, short of a strike. We recommended acceptance because we can’t guarantee we can achieve more in a strike.”

A strike would add to setbacks at Boeing. The company, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, has lost $27 billion since the start of 2019 and is trying to fix huge problems in both aircraft manufacturing and its defense and space business. A new CEO has been on the job a little over a month.

Boeing shares were down 3% in afternoon trading.