The 33,000 union members with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted 64% against the proposal that was meant to end the walkout. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 24 (UPI) — Striking Boeing Machinists voted Wednesday night to reject a tentative deal with the struggling aerospace giant and continue its nearly six-week strike.
The 33,000 union members with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted 64% against the proposal that was meant to end the walkout, which began on Sept. 13.
“We remain on strike,” Machinists District 751 President Jon Holden said in Seattle after the vote.
“We have made tremendous gains in this agreement, in many of the areas our members said are important to them,” Holden added. “However, we have not achieved enough to meet our members’ demands.”
Boeing reached a tentative deal with the machinists Saturday, with an offer that included a 35% pay hike over four years, a $7,000 signing bonus and improved health and retirement benefits.
Over the weekend, IAM members reminded the company that they were striking to regain some of the lost ground over the past decade, to improve job security protections and overtime rules.
Less than a week after the strike began, Boeing announced it was temporarily laying off tens of thousands of managers, executives and non-union contractors. It also stopped production at all but one of its facilities, a non-union plant in South Carolina that produces the 787 Dreamliner.
Earlier this month, Boeing warned the ongoing strike would force it to lay off an additional 17,000 workers and delay the introduction of its 777X widebody plane until 2026.
Wednesday’s vote rejecting Boeing’s latest offer came the same day the company reported a loss of $6.2 billion for the quarter.
Boeing has struggled to restore confidence following a series of missteps, including a blown-out door panel during a flight earlier this year on one of its 737 Max jets and the 2019 grounding of those same planes over two crashes.
This week, a Boeing-built satellite exploded in orbit and problems with Boeing’s Starliner have stranded two astronauts on the International Space Station.
After Wednesday’s vote, Holden said the union was eager to get back to the bargaining table to help Boeing and its workers.
“I know that our members are critical to restoring this company back to financial health,” Holden said. “It is my goal to get our members back to work so that they can earn money, we can build airplanes and get this company back on track.”