On Thursday, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted overwhelming to turn down a tentative contract and to go on strike:
This is really going to put a crunch on Boeing, who already has their share of problems:
More than 30,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers are poised to strike as soon as their previous contract expires at midnight PT, hobbling airplane assembly at Boeing’s factories in the Seattle area.
The machinists rejected the contract by 94% and 96% voted to strike. On Sunday, the union’s bargaining unit announced it reached a tentative agreement with Boeing. But it didn’t take long for union members to begin complaining the proposal was not good enough. IAM 751 Union president Jon Holden wrote to workers, “We recommended acceptance because we can’t guarantee we can achieve more in a strike.”
The deal would have raised wages by 25%, lowered employees’ share of health care costs, and boosted retirement contributions by the company. In addition, Boeing promised that the company’s next plane would be built at its facilities in the Pacific northwest — rather than at Boeing’s non-unionized plant in South Carolina. But many rank and file union members were unhappy with the offer, which fell short of the 40% raise and pension changes that the union was seeking.
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It will be interesting to see if IAMAW gets what they are looking for, but if they can maintain that level of solidarity, they are very likely to squeeze some more concessions from the company.
But no matter what, don’t cross that picket line.
