Boeing engineers vote on contract to end seven-week strike

SEATTLE (AP) — Unionized factory workers at Boeing voted Monday to approve it a contract offer or to extend their strikewhich lasted more than seven weeks and paralyzed production of most Boeing passenger aircraft.

A vote to ratify the treaty on the eve of Election Day would pave the way for a major U.S. manufacturer and government contractor to resume aircraft production. If members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers vote a third time to reject Boeing's offer, it would plunge the aerospace giant into crisis further financial danger and uncertainty.

In its latest contract proposal, Boeing offers salary increases of 38% over four years, as well as ratification and productivity bonuses. IAM District 751, which represents Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest, supported the proposal a little more generous The machinists rejected one almost two weeks ago.

Union officials said they had achieved all they could through negotiations and the strike and that future offers from Boeing might be worse if the current proposal was rejected. They expect to announce the results of the vote late Monday.

Boeing said the average annual wage for machinists is $75,608 and would rise to $119,309 in four years under the current offer.

A central issue was pensions for workers who rejected the company's previous offers in September and October. In its new offer, Boeing did not meet its demand to restore a pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.

If the machinists ratify the contract now on the table, they would return to work by Nov. 12, according to the union.

Workers received their final paychecks in mid-September, a few days after the strike began, and are likely to be under even greater pressure regarding their personal financial well-being.

Bernadeth Jimenez, who has worked in quality assurance at Boeing's Everett, Washington, plant since 2022, said she voted “yes” on Monday after voting against previous offers from the company. She was happy with the proposed raises and said she never expected to have a pension anyway — she invests money in her 401(k) plan.

“The (offer) is good and I really want to go back to work,” she said. “This time we’re ready.”

Theresa Pound isn't ready yet. The 16-year company veteran said she voted “no,” just as she did on the two previous offers that were voted on.

“A 3% premium (to the previous offer) doesn’t change anything for my future. It is still not confirmed that I will have a comfortable life after retirement and that is the bottom line,” she said. “Instant gratification won’t save me.”

Both Jimenez and Pound have husbands who also work at Boeing, and both couples anticipated the strike and worked overtime before it began. Nevertheless, money is running out.

“We’re doing it the best we can,” Pound said. “We're going to run out of money soon, but it won't be a reason for me to say, 'Well, I'm out of money.' I have to go back. I’ll find other ways to make it work.”

The strike began On September 13, 94.6% overwhelmingly rejected Boeing's offer to raise wages by 25% over four years – far less than the union's original demand for 40% wage increases over three years.

On Oct. 23, machinists rejected another offer — a 35% raise over four years and still no pension increase — the same day Boeing reported a third quarter Loss of more than $6 billion. But the offer received 36% support, up from 5% for the mid-September proposal, leading Boeing executives to believe they were close to a deal.

The contract rejections reflected bitterness that had built up after union concessions and small wage increases over the past decade.

The new proposal, which Boeing made last week, included slightly larger pay raises as well as a contract ratification bonus of $12,000, up from $7,000 in the previous offer, as well as higher company contributions to employees' 401(k) retirement accounts.

Boeing also promises to build its next plane in the Seattle area. Union representatives fear that the company could withdraw the commitment if employees reject the new offer.

The strike caught the attention of the Biden administration. Acting Labor Minister Julie Su intervened in the talks several times, including last week.

The Labor conflict – the first strike by Boeing machinists since an eight-week strike in 2008 – is the latest setback in a volatile year for the company.

Boeing fell under several Federal investigation after a door stopper shot down a 737 Max aircraft during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Federal regulators have imposed restrictions on the production of Boeing planes that they said would last until they feel safe Manufacturing safety in the company.

The door plug incident raised renewed concerns about the safety of the 737 Max. Two of the planes crashed less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. The CEO, whose efforts to fix the company failed, made the announcement in March he would resign. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators that approved the 737 Max.

As the strike dragged on, new CEO Kelly Ortberg announced around 17,000 layoffs and a Warehouse sale to prevent the company's credit rating from being downgraded to junk status. S&P and Fitch Ratings said last week that the $24.3 billion in stocks and other securities would cover upcoming debt payments and reduce the risk of a credit downgrade.

The strike has led to a cash crunch as Boeing has been deprived of the money it receives for delivering new planes to airlines. The strike in Seattle-area factories halted production of the 737 MaxBoeing's best-selling aircraft, and the 777 or “triple-seven” jet and the cargo version of its 767 aircraft.

Ortberg admitted that trust in Boeing had fallen, the company was too heavily indebted and “serious deficiencies in performance” had disappointed many airline customers. But in his opinion, the company's strengths also include an order backlog of aircraft worth half a trillion dollars.

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Koenig reported from Dallas.