Boeing and the Machinists union, which represents 33,000 of its employees on the West Coast, have reached a tentative deal that could avoid a strike that had been set to start this Friday.
Before it will take effect, the deal would need the approval of the rank-and-file union members who build commercial jets. But leadership of the union praised the tentative deal and said it achieved the union’s goals.
“You sent us here to stand strong for your priorities, and we are proud to have done so,” the union said Sunday in a statement on its official website.
The company said the agreement provides raises totaling 25% over the life of the contract, improved contributions to 401(k) plans, reduced employee contributions for health insurance and increased time off.
The deal represents Boeing’s biggest pay raise for union members.
“We’ve heard what’s important to you for the new contract. And we have reached a tentative agreement with the union on a historic offer that takes care of you and your family,” Stephanie Pope, CEO of Boeing’s commercial airplane unit, said in a statement.
The deal also includes increased job security for union members with a promise to build the next new airplane at one of the union-represented plants in the Puget Sound region. Boeing has one nonunion plant in South Carolina, where it builds the 787 Dreamliner. In the last two contract agreements with the union, Boeing had to accept concessions such as an end to a traditional pension plan and increased employee contributions to health care, in turn for the company dropping a threat to build the then-planned 737 Max and the 777X jets at new nonunion plants.
Boeing has had a series of setbacks over the last five years, starting with a 20-month grounding of its best-selling plane, the 737 Max, in 2019 and 2020, following two fatal crashes tied to a design flaw in the plane.
In addition, Boeing’s revenue plunged during the pandemic as a sharp drop in air travel caused massive losses for its airline customers. And in January, a door plug blew off a 737 Max flown by Alaska Airlines 10 minutes into a flight. While no one was killed in that incident, it brought new attention to quality and safety problems at Boeing, especially after it was determined that the plane in question had left a factory without the four bolts needed to keep the door plug in place.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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