Boeing Defence, union reach tentative deal to end strike

BOEING Defence and the machinists union have reached a tentative deal to end a five-week-long strike in the St. Louis area, union officials announced on Wednesday.

A vote on Boeing’s five-year contract offer is scheduled for Friday, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

IAM District 837’s roughly 3,200 members, who assemble Boeing fighter jets, went on strike on Aug 4 after voting 67 per cent to reject the company’s last contract proposal.

“We’ve found a path forward on a five-year contract offer that grows wages by 45 per cent on average,” Boeing Defence vice-president Dan Gillian said in a statement. “It remains the best deal we’ve ever offered to IAM 837, and we encourage our team to vote yes so we can get back to work building amazing products for our customers.”

The deal includes a 24 per cent general wage increase over five years and a US$4,000 ratification bonus, among other terms.

The previous offer was for four years and included a 20 per cent wage increase and a US$5,000 bonus. The deal would have raised compensation by 40 per cent on average, according to the company.

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“They didn’t really offer more, they just extended it another year,” said IAM member Brandon Thiel, who works on the F-15 programme.

Thiel said he did not know how he will vote, but “I have a strong inclination that it will not pass.”

His raises during his seven years at Boeing have been almost entirely offset by rising living costs, he said.

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“We just want to be comfortable, to not stress out on a daily basis,” he said.

A seven-week strike by IAM District 751 members in Washington and Oregon ended with a contract that included a 38 per cent wage increase and a US$12,000 signing bonus.

Contract negotiations with a federal mediator ended Tuesday afternoon without any progress. Boeing and the IAM resumed discussion later that day, which continued into Wednesday and led to the latest proposal, he said.

If the contract is approved, workers would start returning on Monday evening, and production would be back to normal in about a week, Gillian told reporters on Wednesday.

Non-union employees have kept production going during the strike, though output has slowed on some programmes, he said last week.

On Sep 4, Boeing announced plans to hire replacement workers.

Boeing’s offer assures workers another year of raises, even for employees already at the top of the pay scale, Gillian said. “So, I feel good about the offer.” REUTERS