EVERETT—Polling locations in Washington, Oregon, and California open on October 23 at 8 a.m. where approximately 33,000 International Association of Machinist (IAM) 751 & W24 workers will decide to accept or reject the latest October 19 bargaining agreement offer by Boeing.
The latest offer is a much better deal from the original union leadership endorsed on September 8 that was rejected on September 12 with a vote of 94.6% by IAM members who also agreed to strike beginning the following day with a vote of 96%. The latest October 19 offer proposes the following:
- Wages: A 35% general wage increase spread over 4 years (12% in Year 1, 8% in Year 2, 8% in Year 3, and 7% in Year 4).
- Incentive Pay: The AMPP incentive plan is reinstated, with a guaranteed minimum annual payout of 4%. Including 2024 payout in February, 2025.
- Retirement: Company 401(k) match increased to 100% of the first 8% contributed, alongside a 4% automatic company contribution. Additionally, there is a one-time $5,000 contribution to each unit member’s Boeing 401(k).
- Pension (only for those with existing plans): The BCERP multiplier benefit increases to $105 for vested employees.
- Ratification Bonus: A one-time bonus of $7,000.
- Sick Time Call-Out: Reverts to the existing contract language’ call in before shift language removed from contract
Boeing withdrew on October 8 its “best and final” offer proposed to IAM 751 & W24 union members on September 23, which left striking workers and an industry anxiously awaiting next steps. That updated offer included:
- A general wage increase of 30% over four years, up from 25%
- Doubled ratification bonus from $3,000 to $6,000
- Reinstated the Aerospace Machinists Performance Program (AMPP) bonus, replacing contribution to an IAM 401(k) plan.
- Increased company match on Boeing 401(k) to 100% of the first 8% an employee contributes, plus continued automatic 4% company contribution
IAM said that Boeing’s September 23 offer didn’t go far enough, demanding a pay increase of 40 percent and for Boeing to reinstate the company’s defined-benefit pension program, which members voted in January of 2014 to replace with Boeing’s 401(k) plan.
Starting October 1, all 33,000 striking workers lost their Boeing-sponsored health care benefits and the company two weeks earlier began furloughing tens of thousands of additional employees—including executives and managers—effectively reducing their take home pay by 25%. Boeing has also instituted a hiring freeze and paused all pay increases for its salaried workforce.
In a twist of events, The Boeing Company on October 10, filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the IAM, specifically against 751 president Jon Holden and W24 president Brandon Bryant alleging “bad faith bargaining.” The charge was related to activities in Seattle, Everett, Renton, Auburn, Fredrickson, Moses Lake, and Portland.
Boeing alleged that the IAM union “violated its duty to bargain in good faith by engaging in regressive bargaining, surface bargaining, misrepresenting deal terms and negotiation status to its members and the public, and failing to bring representatives to the bargaining table with the authority to reach an agreement.”
Boeing also alleged that union leadership is engaged in an active misinformation campaign “aimed at obscuring its [IAM’s] own pattern of bad faith bargaining” filing documents obtained by the Lynnwood Times revealed. It asserted that the actions contributed to a strike that caused “substantial harm to the Company and its employees, suppliers, communities, and customers around the globe.”
The aerospace company in its complaint further alleged that union leadership violated its own Constitution by refusing to allow its members to vote on the September 23 proposed contract.
Following the NLRB compliant against IAM, on October 11, Boeing announced that due to the ongoing strike, the company will delay delivery of its 777X program by a year to 2026, decommission the commercial program of its 767 freighter, and will commence a total workforce reduction of 10 percent—17,000 employees—beginning January 2025.
After Wednesday’s voting period ends at 5 p.m., the count will commence at each Union Hall or voting location, IAM says. All vote totals will be called into the Seattle Union Hall for final tabulation and once verified, the results will be publicly announced.
If the vote passes, IAM workers can return to work as early as the first shift on Friday, October 25, and must return no later than their beginning shift on October 31.
Boeing is set to release detailed financial results for its third quarter on October 23, 2024.
Author: Mario Lotmore
