Boeing Ups Offer to Machinist Union in Bid to End Strike
Skift Take
Key Points
- Boeing offered a 38% wage increase and raised the ratification bonus to $12,000 to end the machinist union strike.
- The proposed contract would increase average annual machinist pay to $119,309, pending union vote.
- Boeing's strike-related losses are approximately $1 billion a month, contributing to a $6 billion Q3 loss.
Summary
Boeing has made a new offer to its machinist union, proposing a 38% wage increase and a ratification bonus of $12,000, in an effort to end a seven-week strike. If accepted, average annual pay for machinists would rise significantly. The strike has cost Boeing roughly $1 billion per month, contributing to a substantial financial loss in the third quarter. The union is set to vote on the latest offer, which it has encouraged members to accept.
Boeing made another offer to its machinist union that includes a new raise as it looks to end the strike that began almost seven weeks ago.
The new offer includes a 38% general wage increase, closer to the 40% pay raise that machinists wanted. It also upped the ratification bonus from $7,000 to $12,000 and would increase the 401(k) match to 100% for the first 8% of pay.
Boeing said the average annual machinist pay would rise to $119,309 if the new offer is accepted, an increase from the previous contract’s $75,608 average. The machinist union is expected to hold a vote on Monday.
The union urged its members to vote in favor of the proposal.
“In every negotiation and strike, there is a point where we have extracted everything that we can in bargaining and by withholding our labor,” Boeing’s chapter of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said Thursday. “We are at that point now and risk a regressive or lesser offer in the future.”
During a third quarter earnings call, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said he was determined to find a solution with the union.
“We’ve been feverishly working to find a solution that works for the company and meets our employees’ needs,” Ortberg said. “I’ve met with the union leadership the first week on the job and let them know that I was committed to resetting the relationship.”
Boeing reported a $6 billion loss for the third quarter, its largest since the start of the pandemic in 2020. The strike, which has further hobbled Boeing’s operations, has cost the plane maker roughly $1 billion a month, according to S&P Global estimates.
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Photo Credit: A Boeing 737 Max 7, which has yet to receive FAA certification. Anna Zvereva/Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons / Anna Zvereva
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