Boeing strike continues as 64% of workers reject new contract
October 24, 2024
“Their fight is our fight” said the IAM in solidarity with Boeing workers after they rejected the struggling aircraft manufacturer’s latest contract proposal, which had been expected to end the ongoing industrial action.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the union that represents 33,000 Boeing staff in Washington, Oregon and California confirmed on Wednesday evening that 64 % of the OEM’s frontline workers had voted against Boeing’s new contract.
The proposed contract would have delivered a 35% pay raise over the four-year duration of the contract – up from 30% in the company’s previous offer. Workers had initially sought a 40% cumulative pay increase. It also included a ratification bonus of $7,000 – up from $6,000 in the previous offer. The deal also included increases to 401k contributions but fell short of reinstating traditional pension plans, a major point of contention for the workers.
This latest proposal had come a week after Boeing had said it was putting its ‘last and final’ proposal on the table.
Decade of sacrifices
Commenting on the vote against the proposed contract, Jan Holden, president of IAM District 751 said that “after 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we’re hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations properly.”
He also stated that Boeing workers are committed to winning back “what was taken from them by the company for more than a decade.”
Holden said the IAM now plans to continue negotiations with Boeing until gains have been made that “workers feel adequately make up for what the company took from them in the past,” he continued.
Boeing Q3 2024 earnings
Hours prior to workers casting ballots on Wednesday, Boeing released its earnings report, which showed the company had lost an enormous $6.1 billion over the most recent quarter. This loss is primarily down to costs associated with the strike, which began six weeks ago and has halted production at several of the company’s key plants. The rejection of its latest contract offer also saw Boeing shares drop 2.7% in premarket trading on Thursday.
In his messaging on the OEM’s Q3 2024 results, Boeing CEO Kelly Orberg said the company is now at a “crossroads.” He also underlined that “trust in the company has eroded,” that the business is “saddled with too much debt” and “we’ve had serious lapses in our performance across the company.”
While he said that the focus now is on “fundamentally changing the culture, stabilising business and improving programme execution,” he did not directly reference the ongoing dispute with workers.
Current industrial action marks the eighth strike in Boeing’s 108 year history, with the most recent strike – begun in September 2008 – lasting for 57 days and costing the company an estimated $4.3 billion in lost revenue.
