People hold signs during a strike rally for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Staff (IAM) on the Seattle Union Hall in Seattle, Washington, on October 15, 2024.
Jason Redmond | AFP | Getty Images
Boeing machinists voted against a latest labor deal that included 35% wage increases over 4 years, their union said Wednesday, extending a greater than five-week strike that has halted a lot of the company’s aircraft production, which is centered within the Seattle area.
The contract’s rejection by 64% of the voters is one other major setback for the corporate, which warned earlier Wednesday that it might proceed to burn money through 2025 and reported a $6 billion quarterly loss, its largest since 2020.
The strike is costing the corporate about $1 billion a month, based on S&P Global Rankings.
Latest CEO Kelly Ortberg had said reaching a cope with machinists was a priority so as to get the corporate back on the right track after years of safety and quality problems.
“My focus is getting everybody looking forward, get them back to work, improve that relationship,” Ortberg told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” earlier within the day, when asked concerning the strike.
Ortberg’s laid out his vision for Boeing’s future, which could includes slimming down the corporate to give attention to core businesses. Earlier this month, he announced Boeing will cut 10% of its global workforce of 170,000 people.
Boeing’s greater than 32,000 machinists within the Puget Sound area, in Oregon and in other locations walked off the job on Sept. 13 after overwhelmingly voting down a previous tentative agreement that proposed raises of 25%. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Staff union had originally sought wage increases of 40%. It’s the machinists’ first strike since 2008.
The most recent proposal, announced last Saturday, included 35% raises over 4 years, increased 401(k) contributions, a $7,000 bonus and other improvements.
Staff had pushed for higher pay amid a surge in living costs within the Puget Sound area. Some machinists were upset about losing their pension plan in a previous contract that they signed in 2014, but the most recent proposal didn’t offer a pension.
Boeing agreed in the brand new contract to construct its next aircraft within the Pacific Northwest, which had also been a sticking point with unionized employees after Boeing moved all of its 787 Dreamliner production to a non-union factory in South Carolina.
“We have now made tremendous gains on this agreement. Nevertheless, now we have not achieved enough to fulfill our members’ demands,” said Jon Holden, president of IAM District 751, at a news conference Wednesday night. He said the union will push to return to the negotiating table.
Boeing declined to comment on the voting results.
The labor strife is the most recent in an extended list of problems at Boeing, which began the yr when a door plug blew out midair from a packed Boeing 737 Max 9, its best-selling plane, reigniting regulator scrutiny of the corporate.
The strike began as Boeing was working to ramp up production of the 737 and other aircraft.
The prolonged stoppage can be a challenge for the aerospace supply chain, which is fragile coming out of the pandemic, as the corporate’s web of suppliers had to coach latest employees quickly.
Spirit AeroSystems last week said it might temporarily furlough about 700 employees and that layoffs or other furloughs are possible if Boeing machinists’ strike continues.
