Boeing and its biggest union of machinists and workers in Washington State reached a new contract deal. But is the threat of a strike gone?

September of 2024 was always going to be difficult for Boeing. The IAM 751 is the chapter of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. It represents 32,000 Boeing workers in Washington State, and its current contract expires later this month.

As far back as two years ago, IAM 751 had warned its members to start saving for a lengthy strike this September. 10 years ago, IAM 751 members suffered severe losses in their previous contract, being at a severe disadvantage.

Boeing then had all the bargaining power. The manufacturer threatened to move production of the 777X outside the Puget Sound area unless IAM 751 agreed to these painful cuts. Industry analysts widely expected that contract talks would fail this time and that a strike of these Boeing workers was inevitable.

Sure enough, just days earlier, news updates by IAM 751 to its members suggested that the talks weren’t going well. And yet, early in the morning of September 8th, the union and Boeing announced their agreement on a new contract deal.

The contract amounts to a wage increase of 25% on average for all Boeing workers. There are health care improvements, including a new primary care benefit and a company-paid long-term disability plan.

Boeing will also contribute up to (?) $4,160 per employee per year to the union’s 401(k) plan. Elsewhere, there are work-like balance improvements, including reduced mandatory overtime.

Boeing Workers Get A New Plane In Their Contract Offer

However, the most headline-catching news in the new Boeing contract is something the workers remembered from 10 years ago. Boeing has committed to building its next all-new airliner in the Puget Sound region.

This last commitment is conditional to the contract’s ratification by 11:59 PM on September 12th. That’s when IAM 751 union members will vote on the new four-year contract. The same deadline also applies to a $3,000 lump sum payment as a further sweetener.

The improvements in the contract aren’t quite as significant as what IAM 751 workers expected from Boeing. The target wage increase was 40%. Instead, the average is 25%, and actual numbers for different employee grades vary between 22.7% and 42.3%.

The union’s breakdown says that the ACTUAL average increase, once career progression through the life of the contract is calculated, is 31.7%. Elsewhere, the contract improvements in medical terms are welcome but don’t amount to the medical benefits the Boeing workers once had.

All eyes now are on the workers’ vote. It’s still anyone’s guess how popular this contract offer will be. From its side, Boeing can ill-afford a strike as it juggles a list of problems that refuses to shrink. On the other hand, a quick ratification of the contract would be a great vote of confidence in the manufacturer’s new leadership.

Source: Reuters, Leeham News