A Seattle-area local of the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers called about 32,000 Boeing workers to vote to authorize a possible strike in the weeks ahead as the union prepares to complete negotiations on a new contract with the aircraft builder. IAM Local 751 represents Boeing workers at two major assembly plants, one in Renton, Wash., home to the 737 MAX program, and another at Everett, Wash., where the 777 program is based.
A Boeing statement described the current workers’ vote as “procedural.”
Boeing and the union started negotiating a new contract in March to replace the current deal, expiring at midnight on September 12. If the membership endorses the proposal before it now, it will authorize IAM to use the threat of a strike in its contract negotiations. A future vote would be required to authorize a specific strike.
The union is expected to seek a substantial increase in wages in those talks.
These labor negotiations are the first for Boeing and IAM since 2008. Workers have achieved cost-of-living increases during that time, but the union is expected to seek a substantial increase in wages – up to 40%, according to some reports – in the next contract.
The manufacturer and the union have had tense relations over recent decades, famously over Boeing’s decision to establish its 787 Dreamliner wide-body aircraft program in North Charleston, S.C., a right-to-work state.
"We remain confident we can reach a deal that balances the needs of our employees and the business realities we face as a company," Boeing said in a statement.
