Unionized Boeing factory workers asked the company for a 40 percent wage hike to avoid a strike. Boeing offered them 25 percent. A strike it is! On Thursday, an overwhelming 96 percent of Boeing workers voted in favor of a work stoppage, the first in 16 years for the troubled aviation company.
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 751 voted almost unanimously to reject a proposed four-year agreement that would address a series of long-standing grievances but didn’t address them well enough. The union says the proposed deal failed to meet the union’s demands for higher wages and better job security.
The Boeing strike affects assembly plants in Washington state, including its Everett and Renton plants, and could disrupt the company’s vast network of suppliers across the United States.
The financial impact of the strike could be severe. Analysts estimate that a month-long work stoppage could cost Boeing approximately $1.5 billion, compounding the company’s existing financial woes.
Boeing has struggled with safety and manufacturing issues in recent years, including a significant crisis involving its 737 Max aircraft, which faced grounding and production delays due to safety concerns.
There was optimism last week after the tentative deal, which featured the 25% raise over four years. But maybe the optimistic folks involved should have spoken to IAM District 751 President John Holden, who, in the immediate aftermath of the proposal, told the Seattle Times that the deal would likely be rejected.
One of the key points of contention was the elimination of an annual bonus program that workers would like to see brought back. Other workers who spoke to the Washington Post want to see a change in the company’s mandatory overtime rules. There’s still a ton of key sticking points to iron out. As one union member reportedly put it before voting for the Boeing strike, “Four years is not enough to make up for the last 16.”
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