Horizon Investments Chief Investment Officer Scott Ladner and Aquinas Wealth Advisors President Chris McMahon break down the market's latest “paradox” and shares of Boeing Co. and Alphabet Inc., respectively.
Boeing factory workers are reportedly planning to strike on Friday after union members voted in favor of a strike late Thursday night.
“This is about respect, this is about dealing with our past and this is about fighting for our future,” John Holden, chief negotiator for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Boeing's largest union, said, Reuters reported.
He later announced that 96% of the roughly 30,000 workers making Boeing's 737 Max and other jets on the US West Coast had voted to strike and halt production of the company's best-selling jet.
The strike will be workers' first since 2008. It officially begins at midnight Pacific time on Friday.
Boeing faces strike from around 32,000 workers
Boeing factory workers hold signs at the International Union of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 751 union hall in Renton, Washington, USA, on September 12, 2024, as they wait to vote on the first full contract in 16 years. (Reuters/David Ryder/Reuters)
The strike comes amid numerous production delays and as the company faces intense criticism after a door panel on a nearly new 737 Max jet blew off in mid-air in January.
This also comes just weeks after new CEO Kelly Ortberg was brought on in August in an effort to restore confidence in the company.
The strike marked a shock end to negotiations over a deal that would have led to higher wages for workers.
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The contract included a 25 percent increase in prevailing wages, a $3,000 signing-on bonus and a commitment to build Boeing's next generation of commercial jets in the Seattle area.
The strike comes after a door panel on a nearly new 737 Max jet was blown off in mid-air earlier this year. (NTSB via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Initially, IAM leadership urged its members to accept the contract, but many workers reacted angrily, with many of the opponents insisting on the 40 percent pay increase that was originally demanded and lamenting the loss of annual bonuses.
IAM members ultimately rejected the agreement by 94.6% in favor, the first full deal in 16 years, according to Reuters.
“We intend to get back to the negotiating table as soon as possible,” Holden told reporters on Thursday.
A worker holds a sign in support of a strike as Boeing factory workers line up to vote on the first full contract in 16 years at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 751 union hall in Renton, Washington. (Reuters/David Ryder/Reuters)
He did not say how long he thought the strike would last or when talks would resume, but added: “This is something we take one day at a time, one week at a time.”
Workers at a Boeing factory in Seattle have been protesting all week.
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The duration of the strike has not yet been made clear.
The last strike, at Boeing in 2008, lasted 52 days and cost Boeing an estimated $100 million per day.
Reuters contributed to this report.
