Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers embrace in a union hall after learning that members have voted to approve a new contract proposal from Boeing Co., in Seattle, Washington, U.S., November 4, 2024.
Reuters/David Ryder
boeing Machinists approved a new collective agreement on Monday, ending a more than seven-week strike that halted much of the company’s aircraft production, which was already suffering mounting losses.
Machinists voted 59% in favor of the new contract, which includes a 38% wage increase over four years and other improvements.
The approval comes as a relief to Boeing’s new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, who took the top job in August after steering the company through safety and manufacturing crises. . The company last week raised more than $20 billion in stock sales to weather its financial problems after warning it would likely run out of cash through 2025.
Most of the price of the plane is paid when it is delivered to the customer, allowing Boeing to restart production, which is key to its recovery.
“The last few months have been difficult for all of us, but we are all part of the same team. We will only move forward by listening and working together,” Ortberg said after his contract ended. “A lot of work needs to be done to restore Boeing to the excellence that made it an iconic company.”
President Joe Biden congratulated the union and the company, one of the country’s top exporters, on reaching the agreement. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su was involved in the negotiations and met with both sides.
“This contract delivers 38% wage increases over four years, improves workers’ ability to retire with dignity, and supports equity in the workplace,” Biden said in a statement. “This contract is also important to Boeing’s future as an important part of America’s aerospace sector.”
3rd vote
The machinists’ vote is the third since September, when 33,000 workers, mostly in the Seattle area, participated. He resigned after overwhelmingly rejecting an offer that promised a 25% pay rise, far short of the 40% the union had sought. They rejected another sweet proposal late last month.
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 count their ballots after voting on Boeing’s new contract proposal at the union hall during the ongoing strike in Seattle, Washington, U.S., November 4, 2024. Union member.
Reuters/David Ryder
The union sought recognition.
“This is a victory, and we can be proud,” International Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 President John Holden said in announcing the results late Monday.
Machinists who build aircraft such as the best-selling 737 Max, 777 and 767 planes must return to work by November 12 at the latest, the union said. They could return as early as Wednesday.
Boeing said machinists will earn an average salary of $119,309 at the end of this proposed contract. The first wage increase will be 13%. The deal also increases your 401(k) contributions and up to a $12,000 signing bonus, or a combination of a $7,000 bonus and $5,000 401(k) deposit.
Employees were frustrated by the rising cost of living in the Seattle area, where most of Boeing’s planes are manufactured.
But unions warned last week that the latest deal proposed might not be as good as workers could hope for.
“In every negotiation or strike, there is a point in time when bargaining and withholding labor has extracted everything possible,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 said in a statement at the time. “We are at that stage now and there is a risk of a regressive or lower offer down the road.”
