AgmeBoeing workers in the Seattle region decisively rejected the US aerospace giant\u2019s latest contract offer on Wednesday, extending their nearly six-week strike.
\nAlmost two-thirds — 64 percent — of the members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 rejected the contract, the union said on X.
\nThe latest Boeing offer had included a 35 percent wage hike, but did not reinstate a pension plan sought by many employees.
\nSome 33,000 hourly workers with the IAM have been on the picket line since September 13, when workers overwhelmingly rejected a Boeing proposal for a new four-year contract to replace the expiring pact.
\nThe strike has halted activity at two Seattle-area factories that assemble the 737 MAX and 777.
\nWorkers had sought a 40 percent wage increase to make up for years of tepid salary growth that have not kept pace with inflation and that employees complain leave them unable to afford living in one of the most costly regions of the United States.
\n\u201cAfter 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we\u2019re hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly,\u201d Jon Holden, president of the Seattle union, said in a statement.
\n\u201cThis is workplace democracy \u2013- and also clear evidence that there are consequences when a company mistreats its workers year after year,\u201d Holden said.
\n\u201cTen years of holding workers back unfortunately cannot be undone quickly or easily, but we will continue to negotiate in good faith until we have made gains that workers feel adequately make up for what the company took from them in the past,\u201d he added.
\nA Boeing spokeswoman said Wednesday night the company had no comment on the vote.
\nThe extension of the strike adds to the troubles facing Boeing and its new CEO Kelly Ortberg, who earlier Wednesday expressed measured optimism the latest contract would be ratified.
\n\u201cWe have been feverishly working to find a solution that works for the company and meets our employees\u2019 needs,\u201d Ortberg said in a message to employees accompanying third-quarter results.
\nBoeing reported a whopping $6.2 billion loss due in part to added costs connected to the strike and to problems with its troubled defense and space business.
\nThe embattled aviation giant has also been under regulatory scrutiny following safety problems.
\nTo strengthen liquidity, Boeing has announced plans to raise up to $15 billion in securities. But Boeing executives Wednesday declined to elaborate on the timing of the offering, or the particular investment vehicles that would be employed.
\nEven before the strike, Boeing had slowed production in its commercial plane division to ensure greater attention to safety protocols after a 737 MAX flown by Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing in January when a fuselage panel blew out mid-flight.
\nThe near-catastrophe — coming after two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives put Boeing under intense regulatory oversight once again. \u2013 Qatar Tribune<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AgmeBoeing workers in the Seattle region decisively rejected the US aerospace giant\u2019s latest contract offer on Wednesday, extending their nearly six-week strike. Almost two-thirds — 64 percent — of the members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 rejected the contract, the union said on X. The latest Boeing offer had …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17952,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":null,"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[96,102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world","category-featured-en"],"yoast_head":"\n