Boeing strike may end if workers agree to 35% pay raise in upcoming vote

Boeing workers have tentatively scheduled a vote on a proposed labor deal that could signal the end of the strike on which they went more than a month ago, their union said on Saturday.

A contract ratification vote is expected this upcoming Wednesday, 23 October, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said in a post on X.

The breakthrough in negotiations to end the strike came after Boeing offered workers a wage increase of 35%, Reuters reported.

Officials said they planned to publicize additional contract details later. But in their statement on Saturday, leaders of IAM – Boeing’s largest union – said the group had received “a negotiated proposal and resolution to end the strike” that was “worthy of … consideration”.

The statement said the union achieved the proposal with the help of the acting US secretary of labor, Julie Su, and “it warrants presenting to the members” of IAM.

Saturday’s development in contract negotiations came after federal Democratic lawmakers from Boeing’s home state of Washington urged the Seattle-based aerospace company and the union’s representatives to resolve their labor dispute, the Hill reported.

In a letter sent Tuesday, US senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray as well as House representatives Adam Smith and Rick Larsen asked both sides to “expeditiously work out a fair and durable deal that recognizes the importance of the machinist workforce to Boeing’s future”.

About 33,000 Boeing workers have been on strike since 13 September. The workers’ union had been seeking a 40% pay increase over three to four years, additional benefits and the reinstatement of Boeing’s pension plan. Boeing countered with a 25% pay increase, of which members widely disapproved.

The union later declined to vote on a “best and final” offer from Boeing that would have only delivered a 30% pay increase. Union representatives accused Boeing of being “hell-bent on standing on the non-negotiated offer” submitted in September.

Amid the strike, Boeing announced that it would lay off 17,000 workers to save costs. Boeing has reportedly been facing financial woes, according to its third-quarter fiscal report. The company has also been under renewed scrutiny for its safety standards and faced multimillion-dollar fines after pleading guilty to criminal fraud charges in the wake of fatal crashes involving its 737 planes in 2018 and 2019.

Union members have expressed frustration about stagnated pay and a change in the company’s retirement policy. Union members had publicly promised to continue striking until they reach a fair contract with Boeing.

“We build quality aircraft, with a lot of lives depending on our work, so our input matters,” a Boeing quality control employee at a Washington facility for 12 years said to the Guardian in September. “We deserve better pay, better respect, better pension and a better work policy.”