Boeing Ups Offer to Machinist Union in Bid to End Strike

01.11.2024 - 00:31 / skift.com / Meghna Maharishi / Kelly Ortberg

Boeing made another offer to its machinist union that includes a new raise as it looks to end the strike that began almost seven weeks ago. 

The new offer includes a 38% general wage increase, closer to the 40% pay raise that machinists wanted. It also upped the ratification bonus from $7,000 to $12,000 and would increase the 401(k) match to 100% for the first 8% of pay. 

Boeing said the average annual machinist pay would rise to $119,309 if the new offer is accepted, an increase from the previous contract’s $75,608 average. The machinist union is expected to hold a vote on Monday. 

The union urged its members to vote in favor of the proposal. 

“In every negotiation and strike, there is a point where we have extracted everything that we can in bargaining and by withholding our labor,” Boeing’s chapter of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said Thursday. “We are at that point now and risk a regressive or lesser offer in the future.”

During a third quarter earnings call, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said he was determined to find a solution with the union.

“We’ve been feverishly working to find a solution that works for the company and meets our employees’ needs,” Ortberg said. “I’ve met with the union leadership the first week on the job and let them know that I was committed to resetting the relationship.”

Boeing reported a $6 billion loss for the third quarter, its largest since the start of the pandemic in 2020. The strike, which has further hobbled Boeing’s operations, has cost the plane maker roughly $1 billion a month, according to S&P Global estimates. 

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