Boeing hit by second strike in a year as defence workers reject deal
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The news: More than 3,200 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers went on strike at Boeing defence plants in St Louis and St Charles, Missouri, and Mascoutah, Illinois, after rejecting a modified four-year labour agreement.
The numbers: Boeing said the contract included a 20% general wage increase over four years, USD5,000 ratification bonus and would have delivered roughly 40% average wage growth over the period. The proposal removed a scheduling provision that would have affected workers’ ability to earn overtime pay.
Boeing said it has fully implemented a contingency plan using non-striking workers.
The context: It is the first time IAM District 837 has gone on strike in nearly 30 years. Union members rejected the deal despite wage increases because they said it did not meet their expectations for a contract that reflects their skill, critical role in national defence and family security. While Boeing’s offer to District 837 included a 20% general wage increase, workers in the 2024 strike by District 751 secured a 38% wage increase under a four-year contract.
This is the second Boeing strike in under a year, following a seven-week walkout by 33,000 commercial aircraft workers in 2024. It comes after a multi-year period of production and safety issues at the company, including the 737 Max crisis and recent production caps from the FAA.
The current strike impacts its defence business, which makes up over one-third of its revenue but has posted losses of nearly USD11 billion between late 2021 and the end of 2024.
The sources: CNN, Reuters, Associated Press
