Boeing Co.'s machine workers union voted Monday to accept a contract offer and end a strike after more than seven weeks, putting the aerospace giant on a path to restarting production of its best-selling airliner and generating much-needed cash. I cut it open.
Leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district in Seattle said 59% of voting members agreed to approve the company's fourth formal proposal, putting the third one up for a vote.
The agreement includes 38% pay increases over four years, ratification and productivity bonuses.
But Boeing refused to meet the strikers' demands to reinstate the company's pension plan, which was frozen nearly a decade ago.
The ratification of the contract on the eve of Election Day clears the way for major U.S. manufacturers and government contractors to restart assembly lines in the Pacific Northwest after a 53-day shutdown due to a factory worker strike.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a message to employees Monday night that he was pleased to reach the agreement.
“The past few months have been difficult for all of us, but we are all part of the same team,” Ortberg said.
“We will only move forward by listening and working together. Much work is needed to restore Boeing to the excellence that has made it an iconic company.”
The union said the 33,000 workers it represents could return to work as early as Wednesday or as late as Nov. 12.
Boeing's CEO said restarting production could take “several weeks” because retraining may be required.
The average annual salary for Boeing machinists, currently $75,608, will eventually rise to $119,309 under the new contract, the company said.
Even among union members who voted to accept the contract, reaction was mixed.
Eap Bolaño, a Seattle-based proofreading expert, said that although she voted “yes,” the result was “definitely not a victory.”
Bolaño said she and her fellow employees made the wise but frustrating choice to accept the offer.
“We are under threat from a company that is maiming, dying and bleeding on the ground, and we, as one of the largest labor unions in the country, cannot accept demands from the company. I couldn't even withdraw two thirds. This is humiliating,” she said.
For other employees, like William Gardiner, director of research at Cal-Cert Calibration Services, the vote was a cause for celebration.
“I'm very excited about this vote,” said Gardiner, who worked for Boeing for 13 years. “We haven't fixed everything, but we're OK. Overall, it's a very positive deal.”
IAM District 751 leaders supported the latest proposal and said they believed they had gotten as much as they could through negotiations and the strike.
“Now is the time for our members to secure these results and confidently declare victory,” the union district said before the vote. “We have had great success so far, so we do not think it is right to ask our members to continue the strike for much longer.”
President Joe Biden congratulated Machinists and Boeing on reaching an agreement, saying it supports workplace equity and improves workers' ability to retire with dignity. He said the deal is important to Boeing's future as “an important part of America's aerospace sector.”
Had the strike continued, Boeing would have been plunged into further financial crisis and uncertainty.
Mr. Ortberg, an outsider who only joined Boeing in August, lost about 10% of his workforce, or about 17,000 employees, citing strikes and a series of other factors that have diminished the company's reputation and fortunes this year. announced plans to lay off people.
