A Boeing 737 MAX airplane is assembled at the Boeing Renton Factory in Renton, Washington, June 25, 2024.
Jennifer Buchanan | Afp | Getty Images
Boeing Workers will vote on a new labor contract on Thursday, raising the possibility of a crippling strike if staff members decide to reject the deal just as the aircraft maker is trying to ramp up production.
The tentative agreement that the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the company unveiled Sunday included 25 percent wage increases and other improvements to health and retirement benefits. Boeing also pledged to build its next plane in the Seattle area.
The vote is the first major test for Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg, who said in a memo to staff Wednesday that he has spoken to employees about the contract in Renton, Washington, and Everett, Washington, where Boeing's main factories are located.
Ortberg has been in the top job at the manufacturer for just over a month, tasked with stabilising production and eliminating safety flaws and quality defects following the explosion of a door panel earlier this year.
“I know the reaction to our tentative agreement with the IAM has been passionate,” he wrote in his note to staff. “I understand and respect that passion, but I ask that you not sacrifice the opportunity to secure our future together because of the frustrations of the past.”
The union, which represents about 33,000 workers at Boeing factories in the Seattle area and Oregon, had asked Boeing for 40% wage increases. But the 25% increase would be in line with an agreement reached last year by the United Auto Workers following strikes in FordGeneral Motors and Stellantis, parent company of Chrysler.
If approved, the Boeing deal would follow a series of wage increases negotiated by unions in industries ranging from Hollywood to airlines.
“We have accomplished all we could in negotiations, short of a strike,” IAM District 751 President Jon Holden wrote to members on Monday. “We recommend acceptance because we cannot guarantee we can accomplish more in a strike. But that is a decision you must make and it is a decision we will protect and support no matter what.”
The top pay for IAM workers at Boeing would rise to $57.43 an hour as soon as the new contract takes effect. If some cost-of-living adjustments are included, the increases could increase by more than 42%, according to the union. Boeing said the average annual pay for machinists is currently $75,608, which would increase to $106,350 at the end of the four-year contract.
If the deal is rejected and two-thirds of workers vote in favor of a strike, the work stoppage would begin after midnight Friday in Washington. If fewer than two-thirds vote in favor of a strike after the contract is rejected, the contract would automatically go into effect, the union said.
“It's no secret to Boeing that our business is going through a difficult period, in part due to our own past mistakes,” Ortberg said in his note. “Working together, I know we can get back on track, but a strike would jeopardize our shared recovery, further eroding trust with our customers and damaging our ability to determine our future together.”
Polls will close at 6 p.m. PT.
