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A key group of Boeing workers said they’d be willing to walk off the job if union negotiations don’t go their way. Members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751, which represents Washington state employees for the troubled planemaker, nearly unanimously approved a vote that could set up a strike later this year. The ballot passed 99.9%.
“The bad decisions made at the executive level of the Boeing Company are short-term decisions with long-term consequences,” said Jon Holden, the local’s president, said in a statement. “This lack of vision by company executives puts our members’ livelihoods at risk. Our jobs, our legacy and our reputation are on the line right now. We are fighting to change this company and to save it from itself.”
This was a so-called “strike sanction” vote. It’s not calling for a strike to happen right now, but it is being used to help prepare for one should it be needed. When Boeing presents the 30,000-plus-member-strong IAM with its best-and-final contract offer, another vote would be required for a strike to take place if the membership rejects that offer. Among the asks that the union is making are a 40% pay bump and a seat on the company’s board.
Bargaining between the IAM and Boeing opened in March about six months before the contract runs out this September. The last full contract negotiation was in 2008, and that agreement has been extended since but not completely renegotiated. Workers went on strike for eight weeks before it was settled.
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