Striking Boeing workers have voted 64% against accepting the latest contract proposal put forth by their employer.
33,000 machinists at Boeing in Washington state, Oregon and California will continue strike action. Extending into its sixth week, this has had a crippling effect on the US plane manufacturer. It is estimated that Boeing is losing around $US 1 billion per month as a result of the industrial action.
Latest Boeing Proposal Rejected
On 11 October, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg announced the cutting of 10% of the manufacturer’s workforce, as it struggled to maintain its financial bottom line.
According to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Union, its members are seeking to make up ground for nearly 10 years of stagnant wages and many givebacks that were part of prior negotiations.
The most recent proposal had notably offered a 35% general wage increase spread over 4 years. This came closer to the 45% that workers had originally hoped for when the industrial action first began on 13 September. Workers have been pushing to bring back pensions that were lost as concessionary in previous employment contracts.
IAM President Comments
IAM International President Brian Bryant issued the following statement after 64% of members voted down the latest proposal.
“The entire IAM Union, all 600,000 members across North America, stand with our District 751 and W24 membership. Their fight is our fight and we support their decision to continue this strike for fairness and dignity for Boeing workers.”
Bryant reiterated the notion that the prolonged negotiations came after a decade a stagnancy. “Ten years of holding workers back unfortunately cannot be undone quickly or easily. We will continue to negotiate in good faith until we have made gains that workers feel adequately make up for what the company took from them in the past.”
The news of the rejected labor contract comes just hours after Boeing reported its Q3 2024 financials. The US aerospace giant reported a $6.2 billion loss in the third quarter.
Kelly Ortberg, Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer gave comment on the third quarter results. “It will take time to return Boeing to its former legacy. With the right focus and culture, we can be an iconic company and aerospace leader once again.”
The union said it plans to immediately send new dates for further negotiations to Boeing.
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