Union: Boeing problems will not reduce workers’ willingness to strike

By Allison Lampert

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Financial and production challenges at Boeing following the in-flight explosion of a component panel in January will not change workers’ willingness to strike to make progress in wage negotiations, the head of the local union said on Thursday.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which represents over 30,000 Boeing aircraft builders in the US state of Washington, is calling for better retirement benefits and wage increases of over 40 percent within three to four years after years of stagnant wages.

“We will definitely make the most of this opportunity,” Jon Holden, chairman of IAM District 751, which represents Seattle-area workers, said in an interview with Reuters.

“Our members want an agreement, they want a good agreement, but they are prepared to strike if necessary.”

IAM workers are scheduled to vote on the right to strike on July 17, but they cannot strike before the contract expires on September 12.

Boeing did not respond to a request for comment on the union’s possible strike plans.

The aircraft maker is trying to manage a wide-ranging crisis that erupted after a door stopper ripped off an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX jet on Jan. 5.

Boeing’s chief financial officer said last month that the company would burn cash rather than generate it in 2024 and that deliveries would not increase in the second quarter.

On Tuesday, workers at Boeing’s Renton plant outside Seattle held a loud rally to coincide with a media visit to demonstrate quality improvements at the factory.

Holden said the IAM’s talks with Boeing had not resolved any key issues and the aircraft maker had rejected the union’s demands for higher wages and a seat on the company’s board of directors.

“They’re not ready for it right now,” he said of the board seat. “But it’s important for us to keep pushing because it’s about making sure the top brass at the company understand that they’re missing the voice of the workers.”

On Thursday, US investigators imposed sanctions on the aircraft manufacturer because it had revealed details of the investigation into the incident involving the burst panels at a media event. Boeing then apologized.

Holden said he was unaware of the changes at the Renton plant that Boeing had described to reporters and had not yet seen the aircraft maker’s 90-day quality improvement plan submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

He said he expected to receive a copy of the plan and had already held discussions with Boeing during development.

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“I don’t see any difference,” Holden said of the changes at the factory. “I haven’t seen the 90-day plan yet. We’re still trying to get a copy of it.”

Boeing said in a statement that it had visited Holden several times at its factory to present the safety and quality plan and listen to his concerns and feedback.

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Seattle; Editing by Sandra Maler and Jamie Freed)