Boeing union workers voted to reject the aircraft maker’s latest contract offer Wednesday, prolonging the nearly six-week strike at the company’s Washington and Oregon facilities.
Sixty-four percent of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ District 751 and W24’s 33,000 members voted against the offer, the union said in an Oct. 23 press release.
Boeing said in an email it had no comment on the vote.
Boeing’s revised offer included a 35% wage increase, a $7,000 ratification bonus and the reinstatement of the Aerospace Machinists Performance Program with a 4% annual payout. The AMPP is an incentive linking a portion of pay to a union worker’s performance.
The proposal also included a one-time $5,000 contribution to an employee’s retirement, a pension increase to $105 a month and reverting contract language requiring workers to call in before a shift.
The union sought a 40% wage increase and a reinstatement of its pension plan in its March contract proposal to the aircraft maker.
“I don't have to tell you how challenging it's been for our membership to go through the pandemic, the crashes, the massive inflation, and the need to address the losses in the 2014 contract,” IAM District 751 President Jon Holden said at a press conference on Wednesday night. “We have made tremendous gains in this agreement in many areas our members said were important to them. However, we have not achieved enough to meet our members’ demands.”
The strike has halted much of the production at Boeing’s factories in the Puget Sound, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, regions. The facilities primarily support production for Boeing’s commercial airplanes and defense, space and security programs, including the 737 Max.
The work stoppage is putting a significant strain on Boeing’s finances, costing the company between $50 million and $150 million a day, according to aerospace consulting firm Leeham News and Analysis.
Contract negotiations began in March but have grown tense since the strike began. Last week, acting Labor Secretary Julie Su met with IAM and Boeing officials to assist with the negotiations. No date has yet been set on when negotiations will resume between the aircraft maker and the union.
With no end in sight for the strike, the plane maker could be in for another grim quarter. Boeing lost approximately $6.2 billion in cash in Q3. Net losses for the first nine months of the year totaled nearly $8 billion, a 260% year-over-year spike.
The strike has had a domino effect on Boeing’s supply chain as well. Fuselage supplier Spirit AeroSystems also had a bruising quarter, losing $477 million in Q3, a 134% rise YOY. As of Sept. 30, losses totaled approximately $1.5 billion, a 118% YOY spike.
