Boeing machinists union strike reach a deal after 5 weeks

Boeing reached a tentative deal Saturday with its unionized machinists to end a strike that has dragged on for over a month, delaying production and leading to thousands of layoffs, union officials say.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the preliminary agreement between the aerospace giant and approximately 33,000 employees represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

A union office later confirmed the news, adding a formal vote to ratify the agreement is scheduled to take place Oct. 23.

“We are finalizing the strike settlement agreement, which will be completed soon, along with additional contract details to provide you with a clear understanding of the offer,” IAM local 751 in Seattle said in the statement.

“Following many years of making financial sacrifices to keep the company afloat, IAM members have sought to regain some of the lost ground of the last 10 years, and to improve job security protections, overtime rules, and decrease their share of health insurance costs, among other priorities.”

The proposal contains a 35% general wage increase spread over four years and also reinstates the Aerospace Machinists Performance Plan, with minimal annual payouts of 4%, among other things.

If ratified, the deal will also give employees a one-time bonus of $7,000.

“We look forward to our employees voting on the negotiated proposal,” Boeing told Bloomberg in an email.

Around 33,000 Boeing employees began striking on Sept. 13.

Less than a week later, the company said it was temporarily laying off tens of thousands of managers, executives and non-union contractors. It also halted production at all but one of its facilities, a non-union plant in South Carolina that produces its 787 Dreamliner passenger jet.

Earlier this month, Boeing said it would lay off an additional 17,000 workers and delay the introduction of its 777X wide-body plane until 2026 due to the strike.

On Friday, Kansas-based Spirit AeroSystems said the strike would cause it to temporarily furlough around 700 of its employees.