Boeing faces looming strike threat by 32,000 workers: ‘We are still far apart’

Boeing workers could strike next week over a dispute between their union and the company over wages, safety, pensions and job security.

The 32,000 workers represented by the International Machinists Union have pushed for significant wage increases of at least 40% in three or four years, reinstatement of defined pension benefit plans that Boeing took away in 2014, lower healthcare costs, safety improvements, easing mandatory overtime and ensuring Boeing’s next airplane model is produced in Washington.

Contract negotiations have hit an impasse ahead of the expiration of their current agreement on 13 September.

“We are still far apart,” Jon Holden, president of IAM District 751, said. “We’ve laid out a path that can get us to an agreement that I believe our members can accept if the company comes along and proposes those things.”

Related: Boeing’s largest plant in ‘panic mode’ amid safety crisis, say workers and union officials

If members reject the contract and vote by two-thirds to strike, then workers will go on strike at midnight on 13 September.

The new five-year contract negotiations with Boeing’s largest union come as the company has faced numerous controversies over safety issues with its airplanes and company safety culture.

Holden noted the safety issues had influenced contract negotiations and what the union was seeking to help resolve those issues at Boeing.

“We’ve never proposed some of the items we have in the past,” he said. “We want to be a part of the quality management system. We want to have a say in how some of the processes and procedures you use to build the airplane are changed or are maintained. This is the foundation of how you build an aircraft safely and Boeing has tinkered with that to a degree that we’re not comfortable with and so we’re trying to reinforce that a second set of eyes, full inspections, are critical for safety of the airplane and safety of the flying public. We build safe airplanes, but we want to make sure the processes and procedures that we follow are maintained to ensure that happens.”

Contract negotiations between the union and Boeing began in March 2024. In July, the workers voted to authorize a strike, with nearly 99.9% in favor. The contract covers more than 30,000 Boeing production workers in the Puget Sound region represented by IAM District 751, while District W24 represents about 1,200 workers at Boeing’s parts plant in Portland, Oregon.

The union’s negotiating committee has noted the union has won concessions from Boeing in the past, making sacrifices during market downturns. In this contract the union is seeking to remedy those concessions after a 10-year contract extension that Holden said resulted in stagnant wages and increased medical costs during a period of high inflation.

“​​We’ve proposed reasonable things, things that our members have earned and deserve, and they are improvements, and we expect to get those improvements,” added Holden. “We’re fighting not just for our current members, but for those that follow. We’re also fighting for job security in our region. So our members certainly have earned the right to have these jobs long into the future. And we’re fighting for everyone else that depends on these jobs as well.”

A spokesperson for Boeing said: “We’re confident we can reach a deal that balances the needs of our employees and the business realities we face as a company.”