Boeing machinists end 3-month strike in St. Louis
Striking machinists at Boeing’s St. Louis facility voted to approve a new contract offer on Thursday and return to work building F-15 Eagle fighters and other military equipment on Monday. Photo by Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA
Nov. 13 (UPI) — Striking Boeing machinists in St. Louis voted to approve the aerospace company’s latest contract offer and return to work on Monday, ending a three-month strike.
Some 68% of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 voted to approve the contract on Thursday, KSDK reported.
“We are pleased with the results and look forward to bringing our full team back together on Nov. 17th to support our customers,” a Boeing spokesperson said in a prepared statement shared with KSDK.
Workers get a 24% wage increase, which raises their average annual pay from $75,000 to $109,000 over the life of the contract, according to CNBC.
The approved contract includes a $6,000 bonus for ratifying the contract, a general wage increase over five years, including a 1.5% general increase for workers at the top of the earnings scale, plus a lump-sum increase of 2.5% during the contract’s fourth year.
The contract also includes improved benefits, including letting workers cash out vacation time that exceeds the maximum benefit of 80 hours.
“We’re proud of what our members have fought for together and are ready to get back to building the world’s most advanced military aircraft,” IAM District 837 officials said Thursday in a prepared statement.
The contract ends the strike that started on Aug. 4, which was the first since 1996 for the union local.
The St. Louis-area Boeing facility builds F-15 fighters, F/A-18fighter-attack aircraft and missile systems.