Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 751 in Seattle voted on November 4 to approve a new deal offered by Boeing, ending their seven-week-long strike.
Fifty-nine percent of members who cast ballots supported the deal, which was backed by the union leadership.
The new agreement provides for a wage rise of 38% over four years, a $12,000 sign-on bonus (up from $3000) and maintains a performance bonus the company wanted to get rid of.
A key union demand to restore Boeing’s defined benefit pension plan — given up in 2014 — was rejected by the company. The workers’ demand for cost-free health care benefits was also rejected.
Boeing’s poor safety and design record over the past six years has had a severe impact and the company reported a US$6.1 billion loss last month. It plans to cut 10% of its global workforce over the coming months.
Reactions to the deal were mixed, even among union members who voted to accept the agreement.
Jim Schell, a striker in the Columbia Basin, told the media: “We’ve been out here fighting for our pension and better health care costs, and they seem to only care about trying to give us more money … but they stole our pension 10 years ago … so we’ve been out here fighting to get it back.”
Eep Bolaño, a Seattle union member who voted “yes” told the media she and her fellow workers made a difficult choice to accept the offer.
“We were threatened by a company that was crippled, dying, bleeding on the ground, and … one of the biggest unions in the country couldn’t even extract two-thirds of our demands from them. This is humiliating.”
“I'm extremely pumped over this vote,” said William Gardiner, who has worked for Boeing for 13 years. “We didn’t fix everything — that’s OK. Overall, it’s a positive contract.”
A day before the US election, President Joe Biden said the agreement “improves workers’ ability to retire with dignity, and supports fairness at the workplace”.
Biden also said the deal is “important for Boeing’s future as a critical part of America’s aerospace sector”.