The union representing workers striking against troubled aerospace company Boeing (BA) reminded its members on Thursday that they must stick together to get what they want.
Sixty-four percent of workers represented by Local 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) voted Wednesday against Boeing’s latest deal, which offered a 35% pay increase but fell short of the broader demands of the employees. Two major sticking points were the size of the pay increase – the IAM is aiming for a 40% pay increase – and the restoration of Boeing’s pension, which was cut ten years ago as a benefit for new employees.
Operators are divided over the contract, with some saying they should be ‘grateful’ for the deal and ‘vote accordingly’ while others want to hold on to that pension benefit,” The Seattle Times reported.
Rachel Sarzynski, Boeing 777 team leader, told the Times that “some people are desperate” and just want to get back to work and get paid again. Union members have received $250 a week from the strike fund after the strikes entered their third week – a major pay cut for many workers. Sarzynski added that Boeing’s latest offering has “absolutely divided people.”
The IAM appeared to acknowledge this divide on Thursday evening, reminding its members that no one “deserves to be bullied or disrespected” because of the way they voted on the deal. “Bullying” of fellow members, the union added, is “unacceptable and despicable.”
“Each of us made a choice with our vote and determined what was right for our family. That power to choose, the right to choose, is at the heart of everything we stand for,” the IAM said in a statement. “Respect. Honesty. A future we decide, not one handed to us from corporate boardrooms.”
As for the strike negotiations, the latest offer came partly after an intervention by acting Labor Minister Julie Su, which pushed both sides to return to the bargaining table.
Boeing said in a statement it was “disappointed” by Wednesday’s results; The CEO had told investors this week that the company is working “feverishly” on a solution. The IAM has said it will work to return to the negotiating table.
The strike has added to Boeing’s litany of problems, which arose again this year after a piece of fuselage fell from a plane in January. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed a continued production cap so Boeing could address quality control issues, meaning the company has been sending billions of dollars in cash out the door for some time without the lost revenue.
The strike halted work on many of the aircraft models that are part of Boeing’s order book. Now the country plans to lay off 10% of its workforce and raise tens of billions of dollars in cash to shore up its coffers amid lost revenue, but securing that funding was partly tied to ending the strike.
The company’s much-needed investment-grade credit rating remains hanging by a thread, and its loss would make the road to recovery steeper and more expensive if Boeing had to borrow more money along the way. Fitch Ratings said last week that Boeing’s fundraising efforts “support liquidity amid ongoing operational challenges” — but only if Boeing can reach an agreement to have its machinists return to work by the end of the year.
—Melvin Backman contributed to this article
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