Striking Boeing Defense workers are scheduled to vote Thursday, November 13, on a new contract offer, having reject four previous proposals since August 4. In this case, the International Association of Machinists union is recommending a “yes” vote by the estimated 3,200 strikers, though as recently as November 8 the IAM had maintained its contentious tone in the long-running dispute over compensation, benefits, and replacement workers.
The current offer from Boeing reduces the total amount of the ratification bonus it has previously put forth, but it includes more payments upon approval of the contract. It continues to offer a 24% wage increase over five years, now with a $6,000 signing bonus (twice the amount offered in the last proposal), but it eliminates a subsequent $4,000 in later contract bonuses that had been included in the previous offer.
According to Boeing, under the new contract workers’ average annual base pay will rise from $75,000 to $109,000. The new contract provides more vacation time and sick leave. And, significantly, Boeing has assured the union workers that none of them would be replaced if the deal is ratified.
If the contract is approved by vote on Thursday November 13 it could mean a return to work by Sunday, November 15.
The strike affects two plants in Missouri and one in Illinois, where Boeing Defense assembles the F-15 and F/A-18 fighter aircraft and several missile and defense systems.
The IAM is the same union that engaged in a seven-week strike against Boeing Commercial Airplane operations in Washington and Oregon, in September and October 2024.
The acrimony between the IAM and Boeing has simmered over the wages and benefits disputes that brought on the strike more than three months ago. Its spokesmen have frequently complained that the Boeing Defense proposals are less generous than the deal agreed to last year.
But the bitterness has grown since Boeing began recruiting and training replacement workers in late September. Each side has charged the other with unfair labor practices, drawing in the National Labor Relations Board as an investigator.
Both sides also agreed to mediated negotiations with the aid of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
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Robert Brooks
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Robert Brooks has been a business-to-business reporter, writer, editor, and columnist for more than 20 years, specializing in the primary metal and basic manufacturing industries.