Machinist union rejects latest Boeing contract offer, keeping strike alive

October 23, 2024 / 7:24 pm

Machinists voted Wednesday to reject Boeing's latest contract offer, effectively continuing their strike that began more than a month ago. 64% of the vote was against the offer.

Jack Pleasant, who has worked for Boeing for 15 years, was among those who rejected the contract proposal.

"It's about time that people started to stand up against the machine. It's going to be hard for a lot of people but it's well worth it," he said.

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 received a contract offer from Boeing on Oct. 19. The union credited acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su with helping the two parties negotiate an offer that it deemed "worthy" of a vote.

According to the union, the latest contract offer would have raised wages 35% over four years. The raise would have started with a 12% bump in the first year, then an 8% raise the second year, 8% for the third year, and finally 7% in the fourth year.

Depending on the labor grade, a machinist's new wage would have fallen between $104,136.45 and $137,276.67 after four years.

Also, vested employees would have received a bump. Union members would have gotten a one-time $7,000 bonus, and 401Ks would have received a one-time $5,000 contribution. Boeing would have matched 100% of the first 8% that members contribute to their 401K, as well as given a 4% automatic contribution.

Machinists have been asking for a 40% pay raise and went on strike in September after rejecting Boeing's first offer that fell short of that goal (Boeing initially offered a 25% pay raise). Boeing came back within a couple weeks and raised its offer to 30%, calling it the company's "best and final" offer. Union leadership rebuffed the move, saying it was not the product of a negotiation. The union also objected to the manner in which Boeing presented the contract — the company released details to the media at the same time it sent the contract to the union. Boeing withdrew the offer.

The ongoing strike, and overall company challenges Boeing is facing, was followed by the company's decision to take cost-saving measures in mid-October. The company announced it plans to lay off about 17,000 employees, which is nearly 10% its workforce. Although Wednesday morning before the union vote, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told CNBC that the layoffs and the strike are two separate matters.

"The realities of our business is we're overstaffed for the forecast of our business going forward. So we need to right size and be efficient and I think we need to continue to do that as we go forward. Obviously the later the strike ends the more more impact that will have," he told the cable news outlet.

IAM District 751 represents roughly 33,000 Boeing machinists, mostly working in Washington state but also includes workers in Portland and California. The strike has hampered production of Boeing's 737 MAX as well as the 767 and 777 models.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.