This is its “final” offer, Boeing warned unions in a press release on Monday, September 23, after ten days of strike action. The American aircraft manufacturer is proposing to the International Association of Machinists (IAM) a 30% wage increase over four years. It has given the IAM until September 27 to ratify or reject this proposal.
More than 33,000 workers in the Seattle region (northwest of the United States) have been on strike since September 13, as part of the negotiations for their new collective agreement. Their movement led to the closure of two large assembly plants in the Puget Sound region, halting production of the 737, 777 and 767 freighters, whose deliveries are already suffering from delays. A situation that is all the more problematic for Boeing since the aircraft manufacturer collects the majority of the payment (around 60%) upon delivery of the planes.
A preliminary agreement was rejected on September 12 by nearly 95% of the members of IAM-District 751, the local branch of the union, who were not satisfied with the proposals for a salary increase (+25% instead of the requested +40%) or retirement.
“After listening to our employees and their concerns, Boeing today presented our best and final offer to management.” unions, the group said. “This offer is subject to ratification no later than 23:59 on 27 September.” local time (05:59 in Paris), he continued.
A 57-day strike
Asked by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the union did not immediately respond. The group is also proposing a ratification bonus doubled to $6,000, as well as the reinstatement of a performance bonus – eliminated in the preliminary agreement – and a higher contribution to the 401(k) retirement savings plan. The rest of the agreement presented on September 8 remains unchanged, in particular the commitment to produce the next aircraft – planned for 2035 – in the Seattle region.
This collective agreement is intended to replace the one that has existed for 16 years, which was concluded after a 57-day strike and extended in 2011 and 2014. Negotiations between Boeing and IAM-District 751 began in March and, on 17 and 18 September, a session with federal mediators was held without finding common ground. At around 8:45 p.m. in Paris, Boeing shares rose by 2.24% on the New York Stock Exchange.
Boeing has been in a precarious financial situation since the crash of two 737 MAX 8s in 2018 and 2019, which claimed 346 lives and caused a series of production quality problems. However, the dissatisfied consider that the salary increase is too far from the union’s demands (+40% initially) and that the pension aspect is unsatisfactory.
Boeing has been under increased scrutiny since an in-flight incident in early January involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9. A series of compliance and quality control issues have reignited questions raised about those same deficiencies after the two crashes.
