A Boeing 737 MAX is assembled at Boeing's Renton plant in Renton, Washington, on June 25, 2024.
Jennifer Buchanan | AFP | Getty Images
Boeing Airbus workers are set to vote on a new labour contract on Thursday, paving the way for a crippling strike if staff decide to reject the deal as the planemaker tries to ramp up production.
The tentative agreement, unveiled Sunday by the International Association of Machinists and Aircraft Workers and the company, includes a 25 percent wage increase and other improvements to health care 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 employees on Wednesday that he has spoken with employees about the contract in Renton, Washington, and Everett, Washington, where Boeing's main factories are located.
Ortberg took over as head of the manufacturer just over a month ago, and has been tasked with stabilizing production and eliminating safety and quality shortcomings in the wake of a door panel explosion earlier this year.
“I know that the reaction to our initial agreement with IAM has been emotional,” he wrote in a memo to his 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 plants in the Seattle area and Oregon, had sought a pay raise of about 40 percent from Boeing. But a 25 percent increase would be in line with a deal the UAW reached last year that followed strikes at Boeing’s Seattle plant. FordGeneral Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler.
If approved, the Boeing deal would follow a series of wage increases negotiated by unions in industries from Hollywood to airlines.
“We have achieved everything we can through negotiations, short of striking,” John Holden, president of the Indiana Teachers Union District 751, wrote to members on Monday. “We have recommended acceptance because we cannot guarantee that we will achieve more through striking. But this is your decision, and it is one that we will protect and support, no matter what.”
Boeing’s top IAM workers will earn $57.43 an hour once the new contract goes into effect. Including some cost-of-living adjustments, the raises could rise by more than 42%, according to the union. The average annual wage for machinists is currently $75,608, which will rise to $106,350 at the end of the four-year contract, Boeing said.
If the deal is rejected and two-thirds of workers vote to strike, the work stoppage will begin after midnight in Washington on Friday. If fewer than two-thirds of workers vote to strike after the contract is rejected, the contract will automatically go into effect, the union said.
“For Boeing, it is no secret that our business is going through a difficult period, due in part to our mistakes in the past,” Ortberg said in his letter. “By working together, I know we can get back on track, but a strike would jeopardize our shared recovery, erode trust with our customers and harm our ability to shape our future together.”
Polls are scheduled to close at 6 p.m. Pacific Time.
