Boeing strike to continue as workers reject latest proposal
Vote against Boeing deal, which offered a 35% rise in wages over four years as against the union claim for 40% hike.
Photo Credit: IAM
Boeing workers voted (64 percent) against accepting the latest contract proposal put forward by their employer.
Jon Holden, President, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 751 and Brandon Bryant, President, IAM District W24 issued a joint statement following the votes being tallied:
“The elected negotiating committee of workers did not recommend for or against this particular proposal. After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we’re hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly. This is workplace democracy – and also clear evidence that there are consequences when a company mistreats its workers year after year. Workers across America know what it’s like for a company to take and take – and Boeing workers are saying they are fully and strongly committed to balancing that out by winning back more of what was taken from them by the company for more than a decade. Ten years of holding workers back unfortunately cannot be undone quickly or easily, but we will continue to negotiate in good faith until we have made gains that workers feel adequately make up for what the company took from them in the past.”
Brian Bryant, President, IAM International adds: "“The entire IAM Union, all 600,000 members across North America, stand with our District 751 and W24 membership. Their fight is our fight – and we support their decision to continue this strike for fairness and dignity for Boeing workers.”
Over 33,000 IAM District 751 and W24 members at Boeing in Washington state, Oregon and California are seeking to make up ground for nearly 10 years of stagnant wages and many givebacks that were part of prior negotiations, the statement added. "Their strike will continue and the union said it plans to immediately send new dates for further negotiations to the company."
Issues at stake
The vote was against the Boeing deal, which offered a 35 percent rise in wages over four years, Reuters reported.
"The strike is seen as a major setback for Kelly Ortberg, CEO, Boeing who took the top job in August on a pledge to work more closely with factory workers than his predecessors."
The union, which has been on strike since September 13, has been seeking a 40 percent pay rise and the return of the defined-benefit pension, the report added.
Boeing reported a loss of $6.2 billion and flat revenue of $18 billion for the third quarter of 2024 as the financials reflect impacts of the IAM work stoppage and previously announced charges on commercial and defence programmes.
Ortberg, in a prepared speech after the announcement of the Q3 results, said the trust of the company has been eroded and is saddled with too much debt with serious lapses in performance that have disappointed customers.
"While we are somewhat consumed with the challenges of today, we need to be setting the foundation of the future for Boeing. Boeing is an airplane company and at the right time in the future we need to develop a new airplane. But we have a lot of work to do before then. We need to reset priorities and create a leaner, more focused organisation."
Boeing had earlier announced plans to reduce 17,000 employees and stop the production of 767 freighters, delivering the remaining 767 freighters ordered by customers, and then conclude production of the commercial programme in 2027.
Earlier this week, Emirates announced a firm order for five more B777 freighters, bringing the total number of orders to be delivered to 14 B777Fs by the end of 2026.
