Boeing workers in the Seattle area voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike on Friday, rejecting a new contract proposed by the troubled American planemaker, which said it was “committed” to continuing negotiations.
• Also read: Boeing: preliminary agreement to avoid strike in Seattle area
• Also read: Boeing’s new boss wants to ‘reset’ relationship with machinists
• Also read: Boeing finalizes plea agreement related to 2018 and 2019 crashes
Workers rejected the contract by 94.6 percent and voted to strike by 96 percent Thursday night, said Jon Holden, president of the IAM-District 751 machinists union. “We will strike at midnight,” or 7 a.m. GMT Friday, he added.
“Our members spoke loud and clear tonight,” said Holden, whose union, which represents about 33,000 workers in the Pacific Northwest, initially supported the deal. Holden had previously said he could not “guarantee that we will get more by striking.”
The strike will shut down two major aircraft assembly plants in the Puget Sound region – a two-thirds vote was needed to initiate a work stoppage as soon as the current 16-year-old contract expires at midnight Thursday.
It will paralyze the production of the 737, the 777 and the 767 cargo, whose deliveries are already accumulating delays. A situation all the more problematic since the aircraft manufacturer collects the largest part of the payment (around 60%) when the planes are handed over.
Despite the overwhelming vote in favor of the strike, Boeing said in a statement that it was “committed” to negotiations.
“We remain committed to rebuilding our relationships with our employees and the union, and we are prepared to return to the negotiating table to reach a new agreement,” the aircraft manufacturer said.
A 50-day strike would cost Boeing $3 billion to $3.5 billion in cash and hit revenues by $5.5 billion, according to TD Cowen analysts.
Thursday’s vote marks a decisive rejection of a deal that workers said was far less generous than Boeing executives had claimed.
The new agreement, which covers IAM members in the Seattle area (northwest), included a 25% wage increase over four years and a commitment to invest in the region.
And also the construction of the next aircraft – announced for 2035 – in the historic cradle of the aircraft manufacturer which was to provide jobs for several decades.
Last strike in 2008
Boeing had hoped the concessions would be enough to stave off a strike, as its financial situation has been precarious since the crash of two 737 MAX 8s in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people, and a host of production quality issues.
“It’s no secret that our business is going through a difficult period, partly because of our own past mistakes. (…) A strike would jeopardize our joint recovery,” warned Kelly Ortberg on Wednesday evening, who succeeded Dave Calhoun as CEO of the American aircraft manufacturer on August 8.
He had urged employees not to “sacrifice” future progress because of “frustrations from the past.”
But the disgruntled consider the salary increase too far removed from the union’s demands (+40% initially) and the pensions section unsatisfactory.
A week after taking office, Mr. Ortberg had pledged to “reset” the relationship with the IAM. But when the agreement was read, many union members reacted negatively and called for a work stoppage.
“We’ve been sold off,” Kamie Bryan, a Boeing employee for 18 years, told AFP on Thursday after voting against the agreement and for the strike. “We shouldn’t take the few pennies they give us and be grateful,” she noted, emphasizing the magnitude of the “boss’ income.”
“They’re talking about a 25 percent raise, but that’s not the case,” said Paul Janousek, an Everett electrician who voted to strike after calling Boeing’s presentation “misleading.”
According to Mr. Janousek, 55, a Boeing employee for 13 years, his increase would actually be only about 9 percent, given the elimination of the annual bonus.
Televisions showed daily gatherings of workers protesting in factories against wage measures they consider inadequate in the face of inflation.
After strikes in the automobile, entertainment and other sectors, the unions are now engaged in a new showdown.
The IAM’s rules provide that strikers receive $250 per week starting in the third week of work stoppage.
Boeing has been under increased scrutiny since an in-flight incident in early January involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 that came after a series of compliance and quality control issues and revived questions about the same deficiencies raised after the two crashes.
The last strike at the American aircraft manufacturer dates back to 2008 and lasted 57 days.
