The IAM 751 union chapter of machinists working for Boeing voted to accept the company’s latest offer, returning to work from Wednesday.

According to some analysts, it is the most expensive U.S. strike in the last quarter of a century. The strike of the machinists stopped work on the assembly sites of all Boeing aircraft except the 787.

The workers started their strike in the early hours of the 13th of September after the union members rejected Boeing’s first offer. This was despite the fact that the union’s leadership officially supported the deal – most likely so that Boeing couldn’t blame them if it didn’t go well.

And go well, it really didn’t. The Boeing machinists voted 94.6% to reject that offer. Instead of the 40% wage increase that they wanted, Boeing was offering 25%. There was also a $3,000 signing bonus, the loss of an annual performance bonus and smaller improvements in medical and retirement benefits.

Negotiations Break Down

There was NO return to the fixed pension that the machinists lost in 2014 when they renewed their previous Boeing contract. That had been the culmination of a hostile period between the workers and Boeing’s leadership following their previous strike in 2008.

Later in September this year, Boeing made a unilateral offer to its machinists (with a 30% pay increase) without waiting for the union leadership’s agreement for a vote. That didn’t go down well, causing a complete breakdown of the negotiations.

In October, negotiations continued with mediation through Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su. The strike was impacting Boeing’s customers and its extremely broad supplier base, bringing many calls for intervention.

On the 23rd of October, the machinists voted down another Boeing offer, this time for a 35% wage increase. The signing bonus was $7,000, and the annual performance bonus was returned. Even so, 64% of the workers rejected the offer. The union’s leadership had remained neutral on this offer.

Boeing Machinists Accept Latest Offer

Boeing’s last offer pushed wages up a bit higher, to 38%, which actually compounds to 43.65% over the life of the agreement. The signing bonus went up to %12,000, with most other elements of the offer staying the same as the previous one.

The machinists approved this Boeing offer on the 4th, voting 59% in favor. Boeing also pledges to make its next airliner in the Puget Sound. But that’s IF the project is launched in the duration of this contract, which is four years. Not everyone is convinced that this will happen.

The union’s leadership had recommended that its members approve that latest deal. Both the union and Boeing’s leadership expressed their satisfaction with the approval. The first Boeing machinists will get back to work on Wednesday, eight weeks (minus two days) after the strike started.

Now, we need to see how quickly Boeing can recover. The strike’s cost to the company could be as high as $6.5 billion. But the strike was Kelly Ortberg’s first big hurdle as Boeing’s new CEO. Many in the industry will be waiting for his next steps over the coming weeks and months.

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