A ratification vote won’t take place before Boeing’s deadline at the end of the week, according to the workers’ union, despite Boeing’s announcement on Monday that it presented a “best and final offer” to striking machinists that included increased salaries and bonuses.
The union took issue with Boeing revealing its most recent offer to 33,000 striking employees without first consulting union negotiators.
“Boeing does not get to decide when or if you vote,” leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district 751 told members Monday night. “The company has refused to meet for further discussion; therefore, we will not be voting” on Friday, as Boeing insisted.
Boeing said that after two days of talks last week with federal mediators failed to produce an agreement, “we presented a best and final offer that made significant improvements and addresses feedback from the union and our employees.”
Compared to the previous this month offer that was unanimously rejected, the new one is more generous. The offer, according to the corporation, entails compensation increases of 30% over four years, as opposed to the initial proposal’s 25%. Initially, the union sought 40% over a three-year period.
Boeing’s desire to put an end to the strike that started on September 13 is evident in the new offer and its designation as the final one. In an effort to save expenses during the walkout, the corporation implemented rolling furloughs for non-unionized workers last week.
The need to go back to work is a financial burden for the strikers. According to Boeing, they will no longer be eligible for company-sponsored health insurance at the end of the month and received their last paychecks last week.
The firm stated that in order for its latest offer to be accepted, the Pacific Northwest machinists’ union members must ratify the contract by late Friday night, which will mark the two-week mark of the strike.
The union, which is made up of workers from factories that put together some of the company’s best-selling aircraft, held off on pushing back Monday night for a few hours.
“This proposal does not go far enough to address your concerns, and Boeing has missed the mark with this proposal,” the union told members. The company also mentioned that it will poll participants regarding the new deal.
Boeing has increased salary by 12% up front and by 6% annually for the next three years.
Bonuses for ratification would quadruple to $6,000. Furthermore, productivity-based yearly bonuses would remain in place. Boeing attempted to replace those rewards in the rejected contract with additional contributions to retirement plans.
According to Boeing, the average machinist’s yearly salary will increase from $75,608 to $111,155 at the conclusion of the four-year contract.
Boeing terminated a traditional pension plan approximately ten years ago, and the new offer would not reinstate it. Pay and pensions were the main reasons given by striking employees, who voted 94.6% against the company’s prior offer.
Additionally, Boeing reaffirmed its pledge to construct its next aircraft in the Seattle region, provided that the project is initiated within the next four years. Although rank-and-file members found the first contract offer less compelling, union leaders felt that this was a crucial clause.
Boeing’s cash-generating capacity is probably already beginning to decline as a result of the strike.
Deliveries of new aircraft account for the majority of the company’s revenue, but the strike has stopped the manufacturing of 737, 777, and 767 aircraft. In South Carolina, nonunion laborers are still working on 787s.
Under the temporary rolling furloughs, Boeing started ordering thousands of managers and nonunion workers to take one week off without pay every four weeks on Friday. It has also declared a halt to hiring, decreased corporate travel, and cut supplier spending.
The cost-cutting initiatives are anticipated to continue throughout the duration of the strike.
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