Allison Lampert and David Shepherdson
(Reuters) – The union representing thousands of striking workers at Boeing Co’s U.S. factories said late on Tuesday a survey found an overwhelming majority of its members oppose the company’s latest wage proposal, which the union described as “best and final.”
Boeing announced the same day that it was extending the deadline for a vote on a new contract after unions rejected the original Friday deadline.
More than 32,000 Boeing workers in the Seattle area and Portland, Oregon, staged their first strike since 2008 on Sept. 13, halting production of aircraft models including the company’s best-selling 737 Max jet.
The strike came after roughly 95% of union members rejected Boeing’s proposed 25% pay increase over four years. Boeing’s proposed improvements, released Monday, would raise pay to 30% and restore performance bonuses, but union members say surveys of their members show they are not enough.
“Yesterday’s survey results were as resoundingly clear as the first proposal: our members are not interested in the company’s latest proposal,” the International Union of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 751 said Tuesday.
The union is seeking a 40 percent pay increase and the reinstatement of defined benefit pensions that were eliminated under a contract 10 years ago.
Boeing did not immediately comment, but the company presented its latest proposal on Monday without first negotiating with the union, which said it would hear from its members before making a decision and declined to immediately put the proposal to a vote.
“We heard you, and you told us loud and clear that this proposal falls short in addressing our members’ priorities,” the union said Tuesday. “We have made clear that we are open to scheduling mediated or direct discussions with Boeing as a path to finding a resolution to this strike.”
Backtracking
Labor experts said Boeing’s proposal to extend the voting deadline was the latest backtracking that could undermine the company’s credibility.
Before the strike, Boeing’s head of commercial airplanes, Stephanie Pope, had told workers that the offer at the time was the best they could get, but on Monday she made an improved “best and final” offer.
“It’s not a good thing for Boeing to say this is their final offer and then just walk away from it,” said Harry Katz, a professor of collective bargaining at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
Striking workers are expected to miss their first paycheck on Thursday.
The story continues
Katz said workers suffering from wage shortfalls should consider Boeing’s latest proposal, which he called solid.
The strike is the latest in a tumultuous year for Boeing that began in January when a door panel on one of its new 737 Max jets came off in mid-air.
During the strike, Boeing has frozen hiring and begun laying off thousands of U.S. employees to cut costs. Boeing plans to continue laying off non-union employees one week for every four weeks for the duration of the strike.
According to economic data analysis firm IMPLAN, if the Boeing strike continues through September 27, U.S. gross domestic product will decline by $1 billion and labor income will fall by $500 million.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington, Utkarsh Shetty in Bengaluru and Alison Lampert in Montreal; Additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, David Gregorio and Jamie Freed)