Boeing employees in the Seattle area, USA, are off the job since early Friday after voting overwhelmingly on Thursday night to reject a new contract proposed by the struggling US aircraft manufacturer, their union announced.
Workers voted 96% in favour of the strike, said Jon Holden, president of the IAM District 751 machinists’ union.
He announced that the workers would go on strike from midnight Pacific time - 9.00 a.m. BST - on Friday.
Workers reject 25% pay increase dwarfed by inflation
The US aircraft manufacturer has proposed a 25% wage increase over four years. The new contract offered to IAM members in the Seattle area also included a commitment to invest in the region and to build the next plane—slated for 2035—in the historic aerospace hub, ensuring jobs for decades.
Although this would be the largest wage increase in Boeing’s history, employees are seeking more to offset high inflation. The union initially demanded 40%.
Boeing is in difficulty due to various issues with its planes and production, with the US aviation authority mandating better quality control in the production of the Boeing 737.
Strike halts production of cargo planes
A two-thirds majority was required to initiate a work stoppage as soon as the current 16-year-old contract expired at midnight on Thursday.
The strike will shut down two major aircraft assembly plants in the Puget Sound area. It will halt the production of the 737, 777, and 767 cargo planes, already facing delays. The situation is particularly critical as Boeing receives the bulk of its payments (around 60%) upon aircraft delivery.
“Our members have spoken loud and clear tonight,” Holden said on Thursday night (Pacific time) as he announced the strike.
Worker highlights CEO's 'huge' pay packet
The IAM District 751 union, representing around 33,000 workers in the Pacific Northwest, had initially supported the agreement: Holden had previously said he could not guarantee that the workers would get more by striking.
“We’ve been short-changed,” Kamie Bryan, a Boeing employee for 18 years, told AFP after voting against the agreement and for the strike. “We should not take these few pennies they’re offering and feel grateful,” she pointed out, highlighting the “boss’s huge earnings.”
The last strike at the American aircraft manufacturer occurred in 2008 and lasted 57 days.
