Boeing Co. workers and supporters hold signs outside the Aerospace Machinists Union District 751 lobby before a union contract vote on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Renton, Washington, U.S.
M. Scott Brower | Bloomberg | Getty Images
More than 30,000 boeing company Workers are scheduled to go on strike on Friday after employees overwhelmingly rejected a new labor contract, halting production of most of the company’s aircraft.
It’s a costly development for manufacturers that have been trying to boost production and restore their reputations after the security crisis.
Workers in the Seattle area and Oregon voted 94.6% against a tentative agreement announced Sunday between Boeing Co. and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. 96% voted in favor of a strike, far more than the two-thirds needed for a shutdown.
“We’re striking at midnight,” IAM District 751 President Jon Holden said at a press conference announcing the results of the vote. Describing it as an “unfair labor practices strike,” he claimed factory workers experienced “discriminatory conduct, forced questioning, illegal surveillance, and we were illegally promised benefits.”
He said Boeing needs to bargain in good faith.
Boeing had no immediate comment.
A worker walks out of a Boeing Co. manufacturing plant in Renton, Washington, U.S., Thursday, September 12, 2024.
M. Scott Brower | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The tentative proposal includes a 25% wage increase and other improvements to health care and retirement benefits, although the union had sought about a 40% raise. Workers have complained about the agreement, saying it does not cover increased living costs.
The vote is a blow to Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg, who has been in the job for five weeks. The day before the vote, he urged workers to accept the contract and not strike, saying it would jeopardize the company’s recovery.
The final financial impact of the strike will depend on how long it lasts.
Jefferies aerospace analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu estimated that the strike’s 30-day cash impact on Boeing could be as high as $1.5 billion, saying it “could destabilize suppliers and supply chains.” She projected the tentative agreement would have an annual impact of $900 million if passed.
Boeing has burned through about $8 billion so far this year and its debt is mounting. Production fell short of expectations as the company worked to eliminate manufacturing defects and faced other industry-wide issues such as supply and labor shortages.
The serial production of a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft earlier this year triggered additional federal scrutiny of Boeing’s production lines.
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