Union urges striking Boeing workers to back improved pay offer

Date: 2024-11-01
people outside holding signs in front of white Boeing sign
Boeing factory workers on the first day of a strike near the entrance of a production facility in Renton, Washington, on 13 September 2024. Photograph: Matt Mills McKnight/Reuters
Boeing factory workers on the first day of a strike near the entrance of a production facility in Renton, Washington, on 13 September 2024. Photograph: Matt Mills McKnight/Reuters

Union urges striking Boeing workers to back improved pay offer

Members to vote on terms that include 38% rise, raising hopes of end to seven-week stoppage

Striking Boeing staff have been urged by their union to vote for an improved contract offer that includes a 38% pay rise over four years, raising hopes of an end to the stoppage after more than seven weeks.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) that represents the 33,000 workers has endorsed the new deal, which also includes a bigger bonus for signing up, and will ballot members on Monday in a vote that could end the dispute.

Workers who produce Boeing’s strongest-selling 737 Max commercial jet and other planes have been on strike since 13 September and have rejected two earlier offers.

Boeing’s latest proposal includes a $12,000 (£9,304) ratification bonus and the reinstatement of an annual bonus scheme that was not included in a previous offer.

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Workers have been pushing for a 40% wage increase and the return of a defined-benefit pension that they lost a decade ago. The 38% deal compares with the 25% first offered by Boeing at the start of the dispute.

Last week, about 64% of the company’s US west coast factory workers rejected an offer of a 35% general wage increase over four years that was not endorsed by the union.

A statement from the IAM on social media after the latest offer said: “It is time for our members to lock in these gains and confidently declare victory.

“We believe asking members to stay on strike longer wouldn’t be right as we have achieved so much success.”

Boeing shares rose 2.5% in after-hours trading following the announcement of the offer after an exclusive report by Reuters. Shares had closed down 3.2% earlier on Thursday.

An end to the dispute will mark a positive moment in what has been a difficult year for Boeing as it has faced a number of expensive safety problems.

In January a door panel blew out in mid-air from one of its 737 Max 9s shortly after it took off from Portland, Oregon. The Federal Aviation Administration then enforced a cap on the production of the Max jets. In July it pleaded guilty to a US criminal fraud charge stemming from the crashes of two 737 Max jetliners in 2018 and 2019, which killed 346 people, and agreed to pay a fine of almost $250m.

The company disclosed this month that it was seeking to raise up to $25bn to shore up its finances to help it deal with production delays caused by the strike, alongside other financial pressures. According to Reuters, the strike was estimated to have cost the company up to $1bn, as of 15 October.

The company previously said it plans to shed 17,000 jobs, about a tenth of its workforce, as part of a cost-cutting drive.

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