Boeing Machinists union votes to strike : NPR

One of Boeing’s largest unions overwhelmingly voted Thursday to strike, rejecting a tentative contract offer from the company in dramatic fashion.

More than 30,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers are poised to strike as soon as their previous contract expires at midnight PT, hobbling airplane assembly at Boeing’s factories in the Seattle area.

The machinists rejected the contract by 94.2% and 96% voted to strike.

The deal would have raised wages by 25%, lowered employees’ share of health care costs, and boosted retirement contributions by the company. In addition, Boeing promised that the company’s next plane would be built at its facilities in the Pacific northwest — rather than at Boeing’s non-unionized plant in South Carolina. But many rank and file union members were unhappy with the offer, which fell short of the 40% raise and pension changes that the union was seeking.

The strike vote comes at a difficult time for Boeing, which is already grappling with a safety crisis after a door plug panel blew out of a 737 Max jet in midair in January. That forced the company to slow production of its best-selling plane as it works to shore up quality control across its factories and supply chain, and rebuild trust with airlines, regulators and the flying public.

Before the vote, new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg urged workers to approve the contract. “A strike would put our shared recovery in jeopardy, further eroding trust with our customers and hurting our ability to determine our future together,” Ortberg said in a letter to employees in Washington and Oregon.

Members of the International Aerospace Machinists count votes on a contract offer by airplane maker Boeing on Thursday in Seattle.

Stephen Brashear/AP

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Stephen Brashear/AP

The last strike by Boeing machinists in 2008 dragged on for eight weeks, costing the company an estimated $2 billion.