Boeing strike could drag on as workers push for higher wages, union leader says By Reuters

SEATTLE (Reuters) – A strike at Boeing (NYSE:) “might go on for some time” as employees are assured they’ll get larger wage will increase and an improved pension, union chief Jon Holden mentioned in an interview with Nationwide Public Radio (NPR) on Saturday.

Greater than 30,000 members of the Worldwide Affiliation of Machinists and Aerospace Staff (IAM), who produce Boeing’s top-selling 737 MAX and different jets within the Seattle and Portland, started a strike on Friday after overwhelmingly voting down a brand new contract.

Boeing and union negotiators are as a result of return to the bargaining desk subsequent week, in talks overseen by U.S. federal mediators, after greater than 94% of employees voted to reject an preliminary contract provide that Holden had endorsed.

Holden mentioned the priorities for his members had been a much bigger wage enhance and the restoration of a defined-benefit pension scheme that the IAM misplaced throughout a earlier spherical of negotiations with Boeing a decade in the past.

“We’ve got probably the most leverage and probably the most energy on the most opportune time that we have ever had in our historical past, and our members predict us to make use of it,” Holden advised NPR.

“I do know that our members are assured. They’re standing shoulder to shoulder they usually’re prepared. So it (the strike) might go on for some time.”

The preliminary deal included a 25% pay rise unfold over 4 years and a dedication by Boeing to construct its subsequent industrial jet within the Seattle area, if the airplane program was launched inside the four-year interval of the contract.

Union members, venting frustration at years of stagnant wages and rising dwelling prices, mentioned removing of a efficiency bonus within the Boeing provide would erode half of the headline wage enhance.

Boeing’s inventory fell 3.7% on Friday. It has tumbled nearly 40% to date this 12 months, slashing the corporate’s market worth by roughly $58 billion

An extended strike might additional harm Boeing’s funds, already groaning as a result of a $60 billion debt pile. A prolonged pause on airplane manufacturing would additionally weigh on airways that fly Boeing jets and suppliers that manufacture components.