Union members reject deal with Boeing, prolonging strike

The strike by 33,000 workers at Boeing will continue after rank-and-file union members rejected an offer from the company and decided to remain on the picket lines instead.

The strike by 33,000 workers at Boeing will continue after rank-and-file union members rejected an offer from the company in a vote on Wednesday and decided to remain on the picket lines instead. The membership of the International Association of Machinists voted 64% against the deal, the union announced late Wednesday. While that was closer than the 95% who rejected an earlier offer, it was far less than the simple majority needed to end the strike. “Our members deserve more,” said Jon Holden, the president of the largest IAM local at Boeing and its chief negotiator. “They’ve spoken loudly, and we’re going to go back to the table to try to achieve those things.” Boeing did not have an immediate response to a request for comment on the vote. The offer would have raised wages for IAM members at Boeing by 35 percentage points over the four-year life of the contract, with an immediate 12% raise. It would also have paid them a $7,000 signing bonus, increased contributions to union members’ retirement accounts and provided some job security, with the promise that the company’s next commercial jet would be built at a unionized factory rather than a new, non-union plant. But the ratification not certain. Union leadership stopped short of endorsing the offer, saying only that the offer “includes several key improvements” and that “it warrants presenting to the members and is worthy of your consideration.”