New York
CNN
—
Union members at Boeing rejected a proposed a four-year contract with the troubled aircraft manufacturer, authorizing the first strike at the company in 16 years, said the International Association of Machinist (IAM) union. About 33,000 workers are set to walk off the job, and the strike is set to begin early Friday morning.
The rejected deal, which union leadership had described as the best it had ever negotiated with Boeing, would have given raises of at least 25% over the life of the deal. It also increased job security for union members, because Boeing promised to build its next commercial jet, which has yet to be announced, at a unionized plant. Without a contract that includes that provision, Boeing might decide to build the jet at a nonunion factory.
But 95% of members of the IAM union voted against the deal. In a separate vote 96% voted to authorize a strike, easily clearing the two-thirds threshold needed to approve a walkout.
The strike is scheduled to start at 11:59 pm PT Thursday, or 2:59 am ET Friday. While it is possible a new deal could be reached in the remaining hours, it appears unlikely that the strike can be avoided, given the anger by rank-and-file union members at the company.
“This is about fighting for our future,” said Jon Holden, president of the largest IAM local at Boeing, in announcing the vote results. “We will be back at the table whenever we can get there to drive forward on the issues our members say are important.”
Past concessions and a series of problems at Boeing, including layoffs and the shift of some work from a unionized assembly plant to the company’s one non-union factory, had sparked widespread anger at the company. So the vote against the contract was expected, despite what was included in the offer.
Earlier this week, Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s new CEO, had acknowledged that members had been upset over past contract terms, but he urged union members to move past that and vote for the deal.
“I know the reaction to our tentative agreement with the IAM has been passionate,” he wrote to employees. “I understand and respect that passion, but I ask you not to sacrifice the opportunity to secure our future together, because of the frustrations of the past.”
