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Boeing reaches tentative deal with its production workers in hopes to avoid strike
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Boeing and its machinists' union have reached a tentative deal on a new contract — just days before thousands of workers who make the company's airplanes were planning to strike.
The International Association of Machinists Districts 751 and W24 represent about 33,0000 production employees based on the West Coast. Over the past month, the aircraft manufacturer and the union have been negotiating a new contract before the current one expires on Thursday. It was the union's first time at the bargaining table in 16 years.
On Sunday, Boeing announced that it agreed to raise wages 25% over the life of the contract, contribute more to employees' retirement, lower the employee contributions for health insurance and provide more time off.
"This contract deepens our commitment to the Pacific Northwest. Boeing’s roots are here in Washington. It is where generations of workers have built incredible airplanes that connect the world," Stephanie Pope, CEO of Boeing's commercial airplane unit, said in a statement.
The union's rank-and-file members still need to vote on Boeing's proposal and decide whether to authorize a strike if the offer is rejected. If that's the case, a walkout could begin as soon as Friday morning.
IAM District 751 President Jon Holden and W24 President Brandon Bryant said they backed Boeing's offer — despite the union's initial ask for a wage increase of more than 40% over three years.
"Negotiations are a give and take, and although there was no way to achieve success on every single item, we can honestly say that this proposal is the best contract we’ve negotiated in our history," Holden and Bryant said Sunday in a statement.
The tentative deal comes amid a difficult year for Boeing, which is still facing fallout regarding the safety of its planes. In January, a door plug blew out of one of the company's 737 Max planes in midair during an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Ore. No one was seriously injured, but the incident renewed questions about the company's quality control.
In July, the company agreed to pay a $243.6 million fine — on top of a previous $243 million fine already paid — related to the fatal crashes of two 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. That same month, the airline manufacturer reported a second quarter loss of $1.44 billion, a steep drop compared to a loss of $149 million a year earlier, according to the Associated Press.
Most recently, Boeing has faced scrutiny over its aerospace division and its Starliner, which faced technical difficulties after blasting off to space in June and left its two astronauts in space waiting to be picked up by a company rival's spacecraft. Boeing used to get the lion’s share of funding for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. It has since lost an additional $1.6 billion on Starliner.
Union leaders on Sunday applauded the proposed contract for promising workers a greater role in ensuring the safety and quality of the production system — which the union has long advocated.
"Financially, the company finds itself in a tough position due to many self-inflicted missteps. It is IAM members who will bring this company back on track," Holden and Bryant said.
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