Strike ends as machinists approve new contract with Boeing

Members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) have ratified a four-year contract with Boeing, ending a 53-day strike that cost the company billions of dollars and forced it to halt aircraft production in the Pacific Northwest.

The 33,000-strong union said on November 4 that members ratified the deal by a 59%-41% margin. Union workers will begin returning to work as early as November 6.

IAM’s members primarily work at Boeing’s facilities in the Pacific Northwest, including its 737 assembly site in Renton and its 767 and 777 assembly facility in Everett.

In a statement following the results of the vote, IAM District 751 president Jon Holden and IAM District W24 president Brandon Bryant said: “Through this victory and the strike that made it possible, IAM members have taken a stand for respect and fair wages in the workplace.”

Added IAM International president Brian Bryant: “This agreement represents a new standard in the aerospace industry – one that sends a clear statement that aerospace jobs must be middle class careers in which workers can thrive.”

The new contract will bring workers’ wages close to the 40% gain that IAM leaders sought when they began negotiating with Boeing months ago.

Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg said in a staff message that the airframer is “pleased” to reach an agreement with the union, calling it an “important time in our history”.

Ortberg added: “There is much work ahead to return to the excellence that made Boeing an iconic company.”

Union members walked off the job on September 13 after rejecting by a 95% margin Boeing’s initial offer for 25% wage gains over four years.

Boeing next offered a 30% rise, but union leaders declined even to put that proposal to a vote, before coming up to 35%, which union members rejected on 23 October by a 64% margin.

On October 31, Boeing and union leaders tentatively agreed to the deal that workers have now ratified. In addition to a 38% general wage increases over four years, Boeing agreed to pay union members a $12,000 ratification bonus, up from $7,000 previously. The deal does not include a reinstated pension, a provision IAM had sought but failed to secure.

With the new deal in hand, Boeing can begin the complicated process of getting its production lines up and running again. Analysts say Boeing will need months to get its 737 lines back to smooth operations.

The strike took a toll on Boeing and the broader aerospace industry.

In October, the company said it would lay off 17,000 workers, or 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader plan by Ortberg to refocus the company on “core” functions – viewed to be the production of commercial and military jets.

Boeing lost $6.2bn in the third quarter of 2024, and financial firm Jefferies estimated the strike cost Boeing $1.3bn monthly in lost revenue, largely due to fewer 737 sales.

With cash dwindling, Boeing late last month said it was selling shares to raise nearly $21bn.

Also during the strike, Boeing ordered the stoppage of inbound parts shipments from suppliers, a move that rippled through the supply chain, leaving companies accumulating inventories or forced to slow their own production.

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