Boeing has rescinded its contract offer to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers after two days of discussion this week, meaning the strike by about 33,000 workers at multiple Boeing operations in Washington and Oregon will continue into a fourth week. The IAM members started their strike action on September 13, having overwhelmingly rejected a contract negotiated by the union leadership.
The aircraft builder made a second proposal in late September but the union declined to propose that for a vote of members, and a new round of negotiation began on September 27. That sequence was unproductive too, but negotiations resumed on October 7.
The IAM union has been seeking a 40% average pay increase over four years; Boeing’s top offer on that point has been a 30% increase. The company reported this week it also raised its position on retirement benefits.
“Unfortunately, the union did not seriously consider our proposals. Instead, the union made non-negotiable demands far in excess of what can be accepted if we are to remain competitive as a business,” according to an October 8 Boeing statement. “Given that position, further negotiations do not make sense at this point and our offer has been withdrawn.”
The strike has halted assembly of Boeing 737, 767, and 777 aircraft, and some analysts conjecture that the lost production will cost the manufacturer as much as $1 billion per month. Such estimates add to the tense conditions surrounding the 737 MAX – Boeing’s best-selling aircraft – the assembly of which is under federal oversight to identify the causes of various structural and design failures during the past four years.
