Boeing waited to learn Thursday whether 33,000 aircraft assembly workers, the majority of whom are based in the Seattle region, would go on strike and halt production of the company’s best-selling jets.
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers were voting on whether to accept a contract offer that included a 25% salary increase over four years. If the manufacturing workers reject the contract and two-thirds vote to strike, the work stoppage will begin Friday at 12:01 a.m. PDT.
Boeing Factory Workers Are Voting Whether To Strike And Shut Down Aircraft Production
A walkout would not result in flight cancellations or have a direct impact on airline passengers, but it would be another blow to Boeing’s reputation and finances in a year marked by issues in its aircraft, defense, and space divisions.
New CEO Kelly Ortberg made a last-ditch effort to avoid a strike Wednesday, assuring machinists that “no one wins” in a walkout.
“For Boeing, it is no secret that our business is in a difficult period, in part due to our own mistakes in the past,” Mr. Musk said. “Working together, I know that we can get back on track, but a strike would put our shared recovery in jeopardy, further eroding trust with our customers and hurting our ability to determine our future together.”
According to Boeing, the machinists earn an average of $75,608 per year, not including overtime, and this figure will climb to $106,350 at the end of the four-year deal.
Although the contract’s negotiating committee recommended ratification, IAM District 751 President Jon Holden predicted earlier this week that workers would vote to strike. Many of them have made complaints about the agreement on social media.
Voting began at 5 a.m. local time at union halls in Washington state, Portland, Oregon, and a few other sites, with results anticipated late Thursday.
A strike would halt production of the company’s best-selling airliner, the 737 Max, as well as the 777 or “triple-seven” jet and the 767 cargo plane, at plants in Everett and Renton, Washington, near Seattle. It is unlikely to affect Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which are produced in South Carolina by nonunion workers.
Based on Boeing’s strike history, TD Cowen aerospace analyst Cai von Rumohr believes a walkout might stretch until mid-November, when workers’ $150 weekly payments from the union’s strike fund may appear low heading into the holidays.
According to von Rumohr, a strike that lasts that long may lose Boeing up to $3.5 billion in cash flow because the corporation receives roughly 60% of the sale price when it delivers a plane to the buyer.
Union negotiators unanimously urged workers to endorse the provisional deal signed over the weekend.
Boeing has vowed to manufacture its next new airliner in the Puget Sound area. That airliner, which isn’t due until the 2030s, would replace the 737 Max. That was a significant victory for union leaders, who want to avoid a repeat of Boeing shifting Dreamliner production from Everett to South Carolina.
However, the agreement fell short of the union’s initial demand for 40% wage increases over three years. The union also wanted to reinstate traditional pensions, which were eliminated a decade ago but settled for an increase in Boeing contributions to employees’ 401(k) retirement plans.
Boeing Factory Workers Are Voting Whether To Strike And Shut Down Aircraft Production
Holden told members on Monday that the union had achieved everything it could in negotiations and suggested that the contract be approved “because we can’t guarantee we’ll be able to achieve more through a strike.”
“They’re upset. They desire so much stuff. “I believe Boeing understands this and wishes to satisfy a significant number of them,” said aerospace analyst von Rumohr. “The question is, are they going to do enough?”
Boeing’s reputation suffered when two 737 Max airliners crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 passengers. The safety of its goods was called into question again after a panel on a Max blew out during a trip in January.
SOURCE | AP
