Boeing machinists hold contract vote that could end their 7-week strike

SEATTLE (AP) — The voting has closed for unionized factory workers at Boeing who were deciding Monday whether to accept a contract offer or to extend their strike, which has lasted more than seven weeks and shut down production of most Boeing passenger planes.

A vote to ratify the contract on the eve of Election Day would clear the way for a major U.S. manufacturer and government contractor to resume airplane production. If members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers vote for a third time to reject Boeing’s offer, it would plunge the aerospace giant into further financial peril and uncertainty.

In its latest proposed contract, Boeing is offering pay raises of 38% over four years plus ratification and productivity bonuses. IAM District 751, which represents Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest, endorsed the proposal, which is slightly more generous than one the machinists voted down nearly two weeks ago.

Union officials said they achieved all they could though bargaining and the strike, and that if the current proposal is rejected, future offers from Boeing might be worse. They expect to announce the result of the vote late Monday.

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Boeing says average annual pay for machinists is $75,608 and would rise to $119,309 in four years under the current offer.

Pensions were a key issue for workers who rejected the company’s previous offers in September and October. In its new offer, Boeing did not meet their demand to restore a pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.

If machinists ratify the contract now on the table, they would return to work by Nov. 12, according to the union.

The workers got their last paychecks in mid-September, a few days after the strike started, and are likely facing more pressure on their personal financial well-being.

Bernadeth Jimenez, who has worked in quality assurance at the Boeing plant in Everett, Washington, since 2022, said she voted “yes” on Monday after voting against previous company offers. She was satisfied with the proposed wage increases, and said she never expected a pension anyway — she’s putting money in a 401(k) plan.

“This (offer) is good, and I really want to go back to work,” she said. “This time we’re ready.”

Theresa Pound isn’t ready. The 16-year company veteran said she voted “no” just as she did on the two earlier offers that went to a vote.

“Adding 3% (to the previous offer) doesn’t change anything for my future. It still doesn’t solidify that when I retire I’m going to have a comfortable living, and that’s the bottom line,” she said. “Instant gratification is not going to save me.”

Both Jimenez and Pound have husbands who also work at Boeing, and both couples anticipated the strike and worked overtime before it started. Still, money is getting tight.

“We’re making it by the best we can,” Pound said. “We’re going to run out soon, but it’s not going to be a stopping point for me to say, ‘Well, I’m out of money. I need to go back.’ I’m going to find other ways to make it work.”

There were fewer pro-strike protesters in Everett than during the Oct. 23 vote.

At a union hall in Renton, also near Seattle, signs warning against campaigning had been moved from inside to outside, and there was no table with workers handing out “Vote No” material, like the last time. A small knot of workers gathered around a burn barrel to talk and keep warm. The mood was subdued.

The strike began Sept. 13 with an overwhelming 94.6% rejection of Boeing’s offer to raise pay by 25% over four years — far less than the union’s original demand for 40% wage increases over three years.

Machinists voted down another offer — 35% raises over four years, and still no revival of pensions — on Oct. 23, the same day that Boeing reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion. However, the offer received 36% support, up from 5% for the mid-September proposal, making Boeing leaders believe they were close to a deal.

The contract rejections reflected bitterness that built up after union concessions and small pay increases over the past decade.

The new proposal that Boeing made last week offered slightly larger pay increases plus a $12,000 contract-ratification bonus, up from $7,000 in the previous offer, and larger company contributions to employees’ 401(k) retirement accounts.

Boeing also promises to build its next airline plane in the Seattle area. Union officials fear the company might withdraw the pledge if workers reject the new offer.

Robert Helgeson has been repairing machines in the Renton plant for 34 years. He said he voted to approve the offer on Monday after voting no on the first proposal and skipping the second vote.

“I think this is fair,” Helgeson said, citing the better pay. “It’s as good as it’s going to get. I know everyone wanted the pension back, but we’re just not going to get that.”

The strike drew the attention of the Biden administration. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su intervened in the talks several times, including last week.

The labor standoff — the first strike by Boeing machinists since an eight-week walkout in 2008 — is the latest setback in a volatile year for the company.

Boeing came under several federal investigations after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Federal regulators put limits on Boeing airplane production that they said would last until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company.

The door-plug incident renewed concerns about the safety of the 737 Max. Two of the plane’s crashed less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. The CEO whose effort to fix the company failed announced in March that he would step down. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators who approved the 737 Max.

As the strike dragged on, new CEO Kelly Ortberg announced about 17,000 layoffs and a stock sale to prevent the company’s credit rating from being cut to junk status. S&P and Fitch Ratings said last week that the $24.3 billion in stock and other securities will cover upcoming debt payments and reduce the risk of a credit downgrade.

The strike has created a cash crunch by depriving Boeing of money it gets when delivering new planes to airlines. The walkout at Seattle-area factories stopped production of the 737 Max, Boeing’s best-selling plane, and the 777, or “triple-seven,” jet and the cargo-carrying version of its 767 plane.

Ortberg has conceded that trust in Boeing has declined, the company has too much debt, and “serious lapses in our performance” have disappointed many airline customers. But, he says, the company’s strengths include a backlog of airplane orders valued at a half-trillion dollars.

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Koenig reported from Dallas. Associated Press writer Hannah Schoenbaum contributed from Salt Lake City.