A majority percentage of Boeing’s largest union voted on October 23 to reject a proposed labor contract. The impactful move by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) extends an ongoing strike that started on September 13.
In a same-day press release, the union shared that 64% rejected Boeing’s latest labor contract. It is unclear how many of the 33,000 Boeing employees that the union represents took part in the vote. The aircraft company reported a $6.1 billion loss hours before the ruling.
The workers – IAM District 751 and District W24 members in Washington, Oregon, and California – seek contracts repairing what they believe to be “nearly 10 years of stagnant wages.”
Jon Holden, President of IAM District 751, and Brandon Bryant, President of IAM District W24, issued a joint statement following the vote results.
They said, “Workers across America know what it’s like for a company to take and take – and Boeing workers are saying they are fully and strongly committed to balancing that out by winning back more of what was taken from them by the company for more than a decade.”
“Ten years of holding workers back, unfortunately, cannot be undone quickly or easily, but we will continue to negotiate in good faith until we have made gains that workers feel adequately make up for what the company took from them in the past,” the district presidents added.
How Has Boeing Responded To The Strike?
“My focus is getting everybody looking forward, get them back to work, improve that relationship,” CEO Kelly Ortberg told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”
The New York Times claims that this month, the plane manufacturer announced its intention to cut 17,000 jobs – about 10% of its workforce. The source added that “various estimates” claim Boeing is losing tens of millions a day due to the ongoing strike. The aircraft company reportedly employs 150,000 nationwide.
In October, Travel Noire reported on Boeing rescinding a contract offer to its workers in the IAM union.
