3,200 Workers On Strike For Over Three Months

Boeing offered a new contract to the more than 3,200 workers at its facilities in the St. Louis area, with increased bonuses and adjusted terms as the company tries to end the walkout that has now lasted more than three months.

Boeing made the new offer on November 10, saying it doubled the ratification bonus to $6,000 and maintained the planned wage increases totaling 24% over five years. The company removed the $1,000 retention bonus and some stock-unit provisions to provide more upfront cash.

Steve Parker, Boeing Defense, Space, & Security Chief said in a letter to workers that the new package would raise the average base pay for covered employees from about $75,000 to $109,000 per year.

Members of Local 837 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers are to vote on the new proposal on November 12. The IAM says it has been seeking a deal similar to the one that Boeing’s Seattle-area workforce received last year which included high company contributions to retirement plans.

The striking employees at the Missouri facilities build the F-15 Eagle II, the F/A-18 Super Hornet, and the T-7A Red Hawk training aircraft. The plants in that area employ a total of about 16,000 workers and are the main site for fighter aircraft assembly. The F/A-18 line has been winding down but still fulfilling international orders, and the new T-7A trainer program is advancing toward the full production rate for the U.S. Air Force.

Parker said the new agreement would have all striking employees return to their positions without displacing any of the replacement workers hired during the walkout. He wrote, “We are fully staffed in some areas, but all IAM members will return to work with no one displaced if the offer is ratified.”

FMI:  www.boeing.com/