Boeing Workers Reject Deal To End Strike – Union 

• 64% of 33,000 IAMAWU members shun 35% pay rise offer

Striking Boeing workers have rejected the latest offer, including a 35% pay rise over four years, to end the more than a month-long strike that has crippled the already struggling aviation sector manufacturing giant.

The rejection comes just hours after Boeing boss, Kelly Ortberg warned the company is at a “crossroads” as losses at the firm surged to roughly $6 billion (£4.6bn).

In a blow to Boeing and the Biden administration, which has fought for a resolution to the dispute, 64 percent of the 33,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union (IAM) voted to reject the contract, the union said late on Wednesday.

After votes were tallied, leaders of the Union, representing the over 30,000 workers at the troubled aviation company who began striking in mid-September, said in a statement; “After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we’re hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly”.

The news came on the same day that new CEO Kelly Ortberg said he would “fundamentally” transform the culture inside the beleaguered aerospace giant and announced Boeing’s quarterly losses had swelled to almost $6 billion.

The latest contract proposal included a 35% wage increase over the four-year contract, reinstatement of incentive bonuses, increases to the company 401k match – though workers were pushing to bring back pensions that were lost as concessionary in previous contracts, and a $7,000 ratification bonus.

However, after weeks of tense negotiations, a deal appeared to be in the offing over the weekend. The Workers’ Union began striking on 13 September.

“With the help of acting US Secretary of Labour, Julie Su, we have received a negotiated proposal and resolution to end the strike, and it warrants presenting to the members and is worthy of your consideration,” the union’s bargaining committee said in a statement to members on 19 October.

“We are finalizing the strike settlement agreement, which will be completed soon, along with additional contract details to provide you with a clear understanding of the offer.”

Workers also rejected an initial tentative agreement in early September. Talks resumed with a federal mediator on 7 October after a two-week stalemate. But those talks quickly broke down as Boeing suspended negotiations with the union and withdrew the offer that included a 30% wage increase.

On 1 October, employee healthcare benefits for Boeing workers on strike were cut off by the company. The union noted workers had been engaging with the community for striking members to work temporary jobs in addition to the strike pay of $250 a week members have been receiving since the third week of the strike.

Boeing had also announced plans to lay off 17,000 workers as part of plans for a 10% work reduction at its commercial unit for union and non-union workers.

According to a recent analysis by the Anderson Economic Group, the strike cost an estimated $7.6bn in direct economic losses, including $4.35bn for Boeing and nearly $2bn for Boeing suppliers.

Available statistics indicated that the strike was set to cost Boeing $108 million per day in lost revenue, amounting to as much as $5.5 billion in losses should the work stoppage last 50 days, as stated by Investment Bank TD Cowen said in a report reviewed by ABC News at the outset of the dispute.

So far, the strike has lasted 40 days. In September, Boeing announced furloughs and pay cuts for some white-collar employees in response to the strike. Last week, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs, which amounts to about 10% of its global workforce.

“This is really painful for Boeing,” Richard Aboulafia, managing director of aerospace consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, told ABC News.

The most recent IAM strike against Boeing in the Pacific Northwest, in 2008, lasted 57 days. Work stoppages undertaken by unionized Boeing employees in the same region have historically lasted an average of 60 days, a Bank of America Global Research analysis found after examining seven previous strikes, the earliest in 1948. – With agency report