Factory workers at Boeing voted to accept a accept a contract offer to end their strike after more than seven weeks, clearing the way for the aerospace company to resume production of its bestselling airliner and generate much-needed cash.
The International Association of Machinists (IAM) had rejected two offers before the third and final offer arrived, which was approved by 59% of the IAM members.
Jon Holden, president of the largest IAM local at Boeing and the union’s chief negotiator, said, “I’m proud of our members; it is a win; they achieved a lot, and we’re ready to move forward.”
After the first two offer rejections, Holden was asked what made them accept the third offer, to which he replied, “Members are ready, ready to come back. I look forward to getting them back to work.”
Boeing indicated they are happy with the outcome as their CEO Kelly Ortberg stated, “While the past few months have been difficult for all of us, we are all part of the same team. We will only move forward by listening and working together. There is much work ahead to return to the excellence that made Boeing an iconic company.”
The strike started on September 13. On November 6, 33,000 union members will be heading back to work.
Details Of The Deal
The deal will see an immediate raise of 13% in wages plus another 9% in the next two years, and on the final year of the contract, it will see another 7% of a raise. The total amount of raises will exceed 43%.
The members will be getting a ratification bonus of 12,000 USD, which can also be contributed to the 401(k) retirement accounts. The deal didn’t include the traditional pension plan, which they lost in 2014 from the previous labor deal.
The first two deals that have been rejected during the current strike were due to the pension plans and how they have been lost because it is an important factor for the workers.
According to Holden, it is probable that those who voted against the deal did so due to the pension problem. The votes were 59% in favor of the deal while 41% rejected it. “Fifty-nine percent is a lot, but there are definitely those who were not happy with the agreement.” He indicated that many members wanted their pension back, and it was their right to do so.
Holden directly stated, “Our members deserve pensions just like every worker deserves a safe, fair retirement in the future,” and added, “They weren’t wrong in feeling the way they did. I agree with them. We just couldn’t get the pension out of this company. We’ll continue working on that issue.”
Urged To Accept?
The union leadership was urging the members to accept the third offer, which was similar to the second offer, with the reason being that rejecting this offer might make it harder for them in the future to get a better deal.
Striking workers lost more than 600 million USD in combined wages, but Boeing’s losses were even bigger than that. The estimates of Boeing’s losses till the last week were 6.5 billion USD, and the impact on the US economy was more than 11.5 billion USD.
Boeing is considered a huge contributor to the US economy, especially with them being the largest American exporter. The company estimates that they contribute annually with 79 billion USD while supporting 1.6 million jobs directly and indirectly with 150,000 workers, including the members who were on strike.
Ortberg started his job as CEO only five weeks prior to the strike beginning, but he wants to reset the company’s relationship with the union.
