Boeing machinists union votes to strike

One of Boeing's largest unions voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike Thursday, rejecting a temporary contract offer from the company in dramatic fashion.

More than 30,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers are set to strike as soon as their previous contract expires at midnight PT, preventing aircraft assembly at Boeing's Seattle-area factories. Work stoppages will also occur in Portland, Ore., and Southern California.

Machinists rejected the deal by 94% and 96% voted to strike.

On Sunday, the union's bargaining unit announced it had reached a tentative agreement with Boeing after months of negotiations. But it didn't take long for union members to complain that the proposal wasn't good enough. IAM 751 union president John Holden wrote to workers, “We have recommended the takeover because we cannot guarantee that we will achieve anything further with the strike.”

The deal will increase wages by 25%, reduce the employee share of health care costs and increase company retirement contributions. In addition, Boeing has promised that the company's next aircraft will be built at its facilities in the Pacific Northwest, rather than at Boeing's non-unionized plant in South Carolina. But many rank and file union members were unhappy with the offer, which fell short of the 40% raise and pension changes the union was seeking.

The strike vote comes at a difficult time for Boeing, which is already grappling with a safety crisis after a door plug panel blew off a 737 Max jet in mid-air in January. That forced the company to slow production of its best-selling plane as it works to improve quality control across its factories and supply chain and rebuild trust with airlines, regulators and the flying public.

Members of the International Space Agency count votes Thursday in Seattle on a contract proposal from airplane maker Boeing

Stephen Brashear/AP

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Stephen Brashear/AP

Before the vote, new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg urged workers to approve the deal. “A strike would jeopardize our shared recovery, further erode trust with our customers and harm our ability to shape our future together,” Ortberg said in a letter to workers in Washington and Oregon.

The last strike by Boeing machinists in 2008 dragged on for eight weeks, costing the company an estimated $2 billion.