Boeing workers reject newly proposed contract

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Boeing workers on the West Coast have rejected a newly proposed contract by the company, extending the strike of more than 33,000 employees to over 5 weeks.

An overwhelming 64% of machinists voted against the new deal. The deal, which included a 35% wage increase over four years, better 401(k) contributions, and a $7,000 ratification bonus, didn’t meet what the majority of machinists requested.

The decision by employees was announced just hours after Boeing announced a nosedive in losses – the company was hit with a $6.1 billion loss in Q3.

One central point of contention in the new deal was that it didn’t reinstate a pension plan that Boeing ended in 2014. The traditional plan offered retirees a fixed monthly payment based on years of service and salary.

However, Boeing replaced that plan with a new 401(k) style plan, which exposed workers to market risks and uncertainties. Put simply, this ended what many Boeing workers considered a security of predictable retirement income.

The deal also fell 5% short of the 40% pay rise that workers were asking for.

In a joint statement, Jon Holden, President of IAM District 751 and Brandon Bryant, President of IAM District W24, said:

“The elected negotiating committee of workers did not recommend for or against this particular proposal. After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we’re hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly. This is workplace democracy – and also clear evidence that there are consequences when a company mistreats its workers year after year. Workers across America know what it’s like for a company to take and take – and Boeing workers are saying they are fully and strongly committed to balancing that out by winning back more of what was taken from them by the company for more than a decade.

“Ten years of holding workers back unfortunately cannot be undone quickly or easily, but we will continue to negotiate in good faith until we have made gains that workers feel adequately make up for what the company took from them in the past.”


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