Move FM Global News

ARLINGTON COUNTY, Virginia: Striking Boeing Defense workers overwhelmingly backed a contract proposal drafted by their union, even though company leadership has already dismissed the offer and refused to negotiate on it.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said that 90 percent of members voted in favor of the four-year agreement. Union leaders urged Boeing to accept the deal, which they say would end the 46-day walkout that has slowed production of military aircraft in the St. Louis area.

“Our members have spoken loudly – we are ready to return to work once Boeing accepts this agreement,” IAM District 837 President Tom Boelling said. “It’s up to the company to get our members back to what they do best: building world-class aircraft for our nation’s defense.”

Boeing, however, has dismissed the union’s move as a “publicity stunt.”

“It’s unfortunate that union leadership led its members to vote on something that isn’t real,” Boeing Defense Vice President Dan Gillian said in a statement. He defended the company’s previous offer, which included a 20 percent wage increase and more vacation time, and reiterated Boeing will not accept terms that significantly raise costs beyond that package.

IAM estimates its plan would add about US$40 million annually to Boeing’s expenses, compared to $30 million for the company’s proposal. The union version includes steeper wage increases at the top pay scale, bigger retirement contributions, and a larger ratification bonus, matching gains won by other Boeing machinists last year.

The strike began on August 4 after 3,200 IAM members rejected Boeing’s second offer. Union officials say the company has refused to resume negotiations since September 12, when members voted 57 percent against management’s latest terms.

While Boeing has brought in replacement and non-union workers to soften the strike’s impact, executives acknowledge it has slowed progress on several defense programs, including new fighter jets.

The unusual tactic of a union unilaterally drafting a contract is not unprecedented — IAM officials noted they have used it successfully before to end a strike. Several members of Congress have urged Boeing to return to talks.

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, blasted executives for what he described as short-changing frontline workers while enriching themselves. “I mean, these people have strip-mined that company,” Hawley said. “The C-Suite is doing great over at Boeing. Their workers are the ones who’ve been getting the shaft.”

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg previously told Wall Street analysts that the defense strike would not be as costly as last year’s 53-day walkout by 33,000 commercial aircraft workers in Washington and Oregon. Still, the disruption comes as Boeing is investing billions in St. Louis to build the U.S. Air Force’s new F-47 fighter and competing for the Navy’s next-generation F/A-XX jet.