Boeing extended a new offer to its striking machinists’ union on 31 October, as the airframer attempts to move past a debilitating, weeks-long halt in production on several aircraft programmes.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) says it will vote on Boeing’s latest contract offer on 4 November, the day before American voters are set to elect the country’s next president.
”With the assistance of Secretary of Labor Julie Su, this updated proposal between the union and Boeing includes several key improvements aimed at resolving the strike,” the union says.
The US airframer’s latest overture includes a 38% general wage increase spread across four years, compared with the 35% increase in the offer rejected by the union’s 23 October vote. That contract proposal was opposed by 64% of IAM members.
Boeing has also boosted its ratification bonus to $12,000 from $7,000, and sweetened its proposed retirement plan for machinists.
”The average annual machinist pay at the end of this four-year contract will be $119,309 if the offer is accepted,” Boeing says. ”This is an increase of about $43,700 from the previous contract’s $75,608 average.”
The new offer retains aspects of the previous offer, including a pledge to build Boeing’s next commercial aircraft in Seattle’s Puget Sound area.
Since starting in early September, the strike by Boeing’s 33,000-member machinists’ union has forced 737, 767 and 777 production to pause indefinitely.
Following a breakdown in negotiations earlier this month, the company said it plans to lay off roughly 10% of its global workforce – about 17,000 employees – in addition to permanently shuttering 767 freighter production and delaying service-entry of the 777-9.
Losing billions in revenue each month, Boeing earlier this week announced that it would sell about $19 billion in shares to boost liquidity.
Meanwhile, airlines worldwide have been impacted by Boeing’s lengthy aircraft delivery delays, forcing some to cut passenger capacity and curb medium-term growth plans.
