Calmer Times Ahead For Boeing, Labor-Wise?

Boeing has dodged a bullet in their oft contentious history with the various labor unions representing their workers -- this time with the St. Louis based International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers IAM 837. Reaching a agreement the day before a threatened strike, Boeing and the IAM dealt with a number of issues, including a 401K style pension plan... a key sticking point in Boeing's position but did agree on a 3% wage upgrade in years two through five.

IAM represents some 2,500 machinists, working on the F-15 and F- 18. The vote tallied at 1,237-838, Sunday, to ratify the adjusted best-and-final contract offer that The Boeing Company presented last week.

In a statement released by Boeing the company noted that, "We are very pleased that our employees represented by IAM 837 voted today to ratify the contract we have been discussing over the past several weeks. When we began negotiations, our goal was to produce a contract that recognizes both the significant contributions of our employees and the competitive environment in which we must compete to keep jobs here in St. Louis. This contract does both. The vote by our employees allows us to keep delivering on our commitments to our customers."

FMI: www.boeing.com, http://iam837.org