US defence delays mount as striking Boeing workers reject latest offer
Strike at Boeing’s St Louis-area facilities enters 13th week, with the stalemate postponing deliveries of aircraft like the F-15EX
Striking workers at Boeing Defence in the St Louis area rejected the company’s latest contract proposal on Sunday, sending a strike that has already delayed delivery of fighter jets and other programmes into its 13th week.
In a statement after the vote, union leadership said the company had failed to address the needs of the roughly 3,200 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 837.
“Boeing claimed they listened to their employees - the result of today’s vote proves they have not,” IAM International President Brian Bryant said in a statement. “Boeing’s corporate executives continue to insult the very people who build the world’s most advanced military aircraft - the same planes and military systems that keep our servicemembers and nation safe.”
“We’re disappointed with the vote result,” Boeing said in a statement, adding that “we are turning our focus to executing the next phase of our contingency plan”.
The five-year offer was largely the same as offers previously rejected by union members. The company reduced the ratification bonus but added US$3,000 in Boeing shares that vest over three years and a US$1,000 retention bonus in four years. It also improved wage growth for workers at the top of the pay scale in the fourth year of the contract.
“To fund the increases in this offer, we had to make trade-offs,” including reduced hourly wage increases tied to attendance and certain shift work, Boeing Vice-President Dan Gillian said in a message to workers on Thursday.
