After more than seven weeks of strike at Boeing, employees have accepted the third salary offer from the troubled aircraft manufacturer. This provides for an income increase of 38 percent over four years.
The strike by tens of thousands of workers at Boeing is over after around seven weeks. The employees accepted what was now the third offer from the aircraft manufacturer with an income increase of 38 percent over a period of four years.
The members of the responsible section of the IAM union voted in favor of the collective bargaining offer with 59 percent of the vote, the union said on Monday evening (local time). This will bring approximately 33,000 Boeing employees from the Seattle area back to work.
“Proud of the members”
“The strike will end, and now our job is to get back to work and start building airplanes and get this company back to financial success,” local IAM boss Jon Holden said at a news conference. He is proud of the members.
The union originally wanted 40 percent more wages
A week ago, the workers rejected the previous offer of an increase of 35 percent over four years. In view of years of zero wage negotiations, the union had demanded 40 percent more money in order to make up for the losses of previous years. Boeing workers had accepted several zero rounds over the past decade.
With the new contract, workers will also receive a one-time payment of $12,000. The union had already negotiated the receipt of bonus payments, which were originally intended to be abolished, in the second offer. The workers must now go back to work by November 12th at the latest.
Labor dispute a bitter burden for Boeing
The strike in the Pacific Northwest region around the US metropolis of Seattle began on September 13th – and is likely to have further exacerbated the crisis at the ailing aircraft manufacturer.
Ultimately, this meant that production of the best-selling Boeing 737 MAX and the long-haul 767 and 777 series practically came to a standstill. According to estimates from the management consultancy Anderson Economic Group, this is likely to have cost Boeing several billion dollars.
Loss of billions and job cuts
The company was already financially struggling before the strike. Boeing recorded a loss of $6.17 billion from July to September. Boeing also announced a few weeks ago that it would cut ten percent of jobs. The cuts are expected to affect around 17,000 jobs.
The US company is faced with numerous problems, particularly with regard to the safety of its machines. Quality management has recently come into even greater focus after a fuselage part broke off during climb in January on a virtually new Boeing 737-9 Max from Alaska Airlines. Boeing was unable to provide any documentation regarding the assembly work when requested by authorities.
