Boeing’s 33,000 unionized machinists voted Wednesday to approve the plane maker’s latest contract offer, ending a seven-week strike that had halted production of most of the company’s passenger jets.
According to the union, 59% voted in favor of the contract. Members have the option to return to work from Wednesday, but must return to work by Tuesday, November 12, the union said in a statement.
Union leaders did strongly encouraged members to ratify the latest proposal, which would increase wages by 38% over the four-year term of the contract, compared to a proposed 35% increase that members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) rejected last month .
The revised agreement also provides for a $12,000 cash bonus for hourly employees and increased contributions to retirement savings plans. The improved offer does not resolve a key sticking point in the contentious talks — pension restoration — but Boeing would increase its contributions to employee 401K plans.
The average annual wage for machinists, now $75,608, would rise to $119,309 within four years under current offers, Boeing said.
The vote came after IAM members rejected lower offers from the Seattle-based aerospace giant in September and October.
“In every negotiation and strike, there is a point where we have gotten everything we can during the negotiations and by forsaking our labor,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said last week in supporting Boeing’s revised offer . “We are at that point now and risk a regressive or lower offer in the future.”
Acting US Secretary of Labor Julie Su has taken an active role in the negotiations, having recently helped ends for days strike that briefly closed East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.
The Boeing strike that began on September 13 marked the latest setback for the manufacturing giant, which has been the focus of multiple federal investigations following a door plug. blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. The incident revived concerns about the plane’s safety after two crashes within five months in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.
Boeing agreed to plead guilty in July conspiracy to commit fraud for misleading regulators who approved the 737 Max.
During the strike, Boeing was unable to produce new 737 aircraft, which are made at the company’s assembly plants in the Seattle area. One large Boeing aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner, is manufactured at a non-union factory in South Carolina.
The company reported a loss in the third quarter of $6.1 billion.
contributed to this report.
