Briefs

Machinists vote to accept Boeing’s latest offer, ending 7-week strike

November 5, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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SEATTLE — FACTORY WORKERS AT BOEING HAVE ENDED THEIR STRIKE and voted to accept the fourth contract offer from the aerospace manufacturing giant, the Associated Press reports.

Leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district in Seattle said 59% of its members who cast ballots agreed to approve the company’s fourth formal offer, after a strike that began on Sept. 13. The machinists recently rejected an offer on Oct. 23, the same day that Boeing reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion, PBS News reported Monday.

The deal that the union members accepted includes a 38% wage increase over four years, and ratification and productivity bonuses. Currently machinists earn just over $75,000 annually; the raises would eventually bring their salaries up to six figures, at least $119,300. It also included Boeing’s promise to build the next airplane in Seattle, where the IAM is located. Workers are expected to return to their jobs anytime from Wednesday, Nov. 6 to Nov. 12.

However, Boeing refused to meet strikers’ demand to restore a company pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago. Boeing, which took financial losses this year, are also under fire for allegedly circumventing safety protocol in several cases, most notably for a door plug that blew off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max while the plane was in flight.

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