What happened
Boeing’s largest union rejected the company’s latest contract offer Wednesday and voted to continue a strike that began Sept. 13. Local leaders of the union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said 64% of its members voted against Boeing’s latest offer, which included a 35% raise over four years, $7,000 ratification bonus and increased health and 401(k) contributions. The union was seeking a 40% raise.
Who said what
Boeing had hoped its “sweetened deal,” up from an initial raise of 25%, “would be enough to end the walkout by 33,000 machinists” in the Seattle area who build most of the company’s commercial jets, The Washington Post said. But the company “may have underestimated the mistrust and lingering resentment that remains among rank-and-file workers,” especially over a 2014 contract in which the union signed away its defined pension after Boeing threatened to move airline production out of the area.
“After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we’re hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly,” IAM leaders in Seattle said Wednesday evening. “There are consequences when a company mistreats its workers year after year.” The strike “comes during an already challenging year for Boeing,” which reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss Wednesday, The Associated Press said. Analysts said the strike is costing the company about $1 billion a month.
What next?
Without a deal, “factories that build the 737, 767 and 777 jets remain idled, further sapping the company’s revenue,” The Wall Street Journal said. “We’re going to get what we want this time,” union member Donovan Evans, 30, told Reuters. “We have better legs to stand on this time than Boeing.”