Thousands of Boeing workers went on strike on the West Coast Friday morning after rejecting a tentative contract their union negotiated with the aerospace manufacturer.
The massive work stoppage, involving an estimated 33,000 employees, is expected to halt production at the company’s jet plants in the Puget Sound region of Washington and its parts plant in Portland, Oregon.
The strike comes after rank-and-file union members voted overwhelmingly Thursday to turn down the deal and walk out. Both union leadership and Boeing brass had urged workers to accept what was on the table.
Boeing said in a statement that it was prepared to start bargaining again.
“The message was clear that the tentative agreement we reached with [union] leadership was not acceptable to the members,” the company said. “We remain committed to resetting our relationship with our employees and the union and we are ready to get back to the table to reach a new agreement.”
Boeing had offered a 25% pay raise over four years, but the union had proposed 40% to make up for lost increases and elevated inflation in recent years. The deal would also have eliminated an annual bonus.
And while the union had called for restoration of the defined-benefit pension plan, the deal instead offered higher contributions to 401(k) plans.
Many workers had lambasted the tentative agreement on social media and protested outside plants this week, calling for co-workers to support a strike. When a vote was held Thursday, more than 94% of workers were against the deal, and 96% were in favor of striking, according to Jon Holden, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751.
A prolonged work stoppage could be financially damaging for Boeing, whose credit was downgraded by Moody’s earlier this year. The once-storied manufacturer has been rocked by scandal in recent years, most recently after a door plug blew off one of its planes during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, prompting congressional hearings.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg had made a personal plea to workers to take the deal. He acknowledged in a letter Wednesday that the response to the tentative agreement had been “passionate,” but called the offer “unprecedented.”
Many workers had lambasted the tentative deal on social media and protested outside plants this week, calling for co-workers to support a strike.
“Working together, I know that we can get back on track, but a strike would put our shared recovery in jeopardy, further eroding trust with our customers,” Ortberg wrote.
The Boeing walkout has similarities to other recent manufacturing strikes in which rank-and-file members had high expectations for a strong contract.
Workers at John Deere went on strike in 2021 after turning down what the United Auto Workers had negotiated on their behalf. Last year, under new leadership, the UAW led its simultaneous strike against Ford, General Motors and Jeep parent company Stellantis, demanding a “record” deal. In both cases workers said they were trying to make up for past concessions.
Another major issue in the Boeing contract talks is job security. The union wants a guarantee that new jet production will be kept in the area to add more union jobs. Boeing offered to assure its next jet would be built there, but the guarantee was only good if production began during the 4-year contract. One flyer recommending workers vote the contract down called the production guarantee “hollow.”
Workers also told the publication Labor Notes that they had hoped the contract would do more to limit mandatory overtime .
The union leader Holden had told workers in a letter earlier this week that he hoped they would approve the deal, but if they didn’t, the union’s bargaining committee would stand behind them on the picket line.
“If the membership chooses to strike, we will support you and work to get back into bargaining to resolve the differences,” Holden said.
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