Thousands of workers at Boeing plants across the United States have gone on strike, affecting the development of military aircraft and weapons. The strike began on Monday at Boeing facilities in St Louis and St Charles, Missouri, as well as Mascoutah, Illinois, after failed negotiations over wage increases and other provisions of a new contract. About 3,200 local members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted to reject a modified four-year labor agreement, the union said.
The workers rejected an earlier proposed contract, which included a 20% wage increase over four years and $5,000 ratification bonuses. Boeing warned over the weekend that it anticipated the strike after workers rejected its latest offer, which did not further boost the proposed wage hike. However, the proposal removed a scheduling provision that would have affected workers’ ability to earn overtime pay. “We’re disappointed our employees rejected an offer that featured 40% average wage growth and resolved their primary issue on alternative work schedules,” said Dan Gillian, Boeing Air Dominance vice president and general manager, and senior St Louis site executive.
The union, however, maintains that the workers deserve a contract that keeps their families secure and recognizes their unmatched expertise. “IAM District 837 members build the aircraft and defense systems that keep our country safe,” Sam Cicinelli, the general vice president of the union’s Midwest division, said in a statement. “They deserve nothing less than a contract that keeps their families secure and recognizes their unmatched expertise.”
Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security business accounts for more than one-third of the company’s revenue. However, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told analysts last week that the impact from a strike by the machinists who build fighter jets, weapons systems, and the US Navy’s first carrier-based unmanned aircraft would be much less than a walkout last year by 33,000 workers who assemble the company’s commercial jetliners. “The order of magnitude of this is much, much less than what we saw last fall,” Ortberg said. “So we’ll manage through this. I wouldn’t worry too much about the implications of the strike.”
The 2024 strike shut down Boeing’s factories in Washington state for more than seven weeks at a bleak time for the company. Boeing came under several federal investigations last year after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. The Federal Aviation Administration put limits on Boeing plane production that it said would last until the agency felt confident about manufacturing quality safeguards at the company.
Boeing’s stock tumbled on the newhs of the strike, trending downwards earlier in the day before recovering slightly. The company reported that its second-quarter revenue had improved and its losses had narrowed. The company lost $611m in the second quarter, compared to a loss of $1.44bn during the same period last year. Boeing’s CEO is hoping to ask regulators later this year for permission to increase production of the 737 Max beyond the current cap of 38 per month.