randzy Fate Mondy October 20, 2024 0 Comments

The union will vote on a contract with a 35% wage increase

David Shepardson
| Reuters

Striking Boeing machinists will vote Wednesday on a new contract that includes a 35% pay increase over four years that could end a costly five-week strike, the company and union said Saturday.

About 33,000 Boeing workers on the West Coast, mostly in Washington state, have been on strike since September 13. The work stoppage grounded production of the best-selling 737 MAX and its wide-body 767 and 777 jets, putting further pressure on the company’s already fragile finances.

The latest proposal includes a $7,000 ratification bonus, a reinstated incentive plan and increased contributions to employee 401(k) retirement plans, including a one-time contribution of $5,000 plus up to 12% employer matching, International Association of Machinists and Laborers Local 751 said. aerospace industry. .

Boeing said Saturday it “looks forward to our employees voting on the agreed proposal.” However, there is no guarantee that workers will approve the proposal after they overwhelmingly rejected the original proposal. “The future of this contract is in your hands,” the union told workers on Saturday.

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On Oct. 8, Boeing withdrew its expanded offer, which included a 30% pay increase over four years, after negotiations that also included federal mediators failed. The union was seeking a 40% increase and reinstatement of the defined benefit pension, which was not offered in the new contract.

In September, nearly 95% of West Coast workers rejected Boeing’s contract offer of a 25% pay increase over four years that had been approved by union officials, prompting a strike.

That previous deal also included a $3,000 signing bonus, which some Boeing employees told Reuters was too low given that previous deals had bonuses of at least $5,000.

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On Saturday, the union said in a social media post that, with the help of acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su, they had received a “negotiated proposal” and told striking workers it was “worthy of your consideration.”

Su was in Seattle on Monday, where she made her first personal attempt to help negotiate a new contract with Boeing, and returned Thursday evening to resume work after a trip to Detroit.

While some reaction on social media on Saturday morning was positive towards the new agreement, it is unclear how workers will vote.

A White House spokesman said: “President (Joe) Biden believes the collective bargaining process is the best way to achieve good results for workers, and the final contract decision will be made by union workers.”

Boeing announced last Friday that it would cut 17,000 jobs, or 10% of its global workforce, and take on $5 billion in costs, continuing a year of turmoil for the company since Alaska Airlines’ new 737 MAX 9 crashed in mid-air. Boeing on Tuesday announced an equity and debt offering of up to $25 billion over the next three years, as well as a $10 billion credit agreement.

Boeing has faced continued pressure since a door panel flew off its new 737 MAX 9 plane in mid-air in January, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to bar the plane maker from increasing production. On Friday, the FAA opened a new investigation into Boeing.

In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud and pay at least $243.6 million after violating a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement.

The labor struggle is expected to have a negative impact on the October jobs report, which will be released days before the US presidential election on November 5.

Economists estimate that the strike and ongoing weekly furloughs of non-striking workers, as well as temporary layoffs at Boeing suppliers, have cut up to 50,000 nonfarm payrolls this month. The economy added 254,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2% in August.

Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Additional reporting by Mrinmay Day and Allison Lampert. Editing by Daniel Wallis and Diane Craft..