A 767 seen in production at Everett, Washington, August 6, 2007.
Photo by David Axe derivative work: Altair78 (talk) - Boeing_767_Everett,_Washington_production_line.jpg, Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0 license
Update: Workers voted against the new contract. More in this week's upcoming Tribune.
EVERETT — Boeing assemblers are anticipated to vote Oct. 23 on whether to accept a renegotiated contract that union leaders agreed to present to employees.
If over 50% approve ratification, they will come off strike at a future date. Machinists have been on strike since Sept. 13 after a previous contract presented for a vote flopped.
Negotiations between the company and union leadership have been ongoing for longer than that.
According to IAM 751, the new proposed contract includes:
• A 35% general wage increase spread over four years, front-loaded with a 12% wage increase in the first year.
• Incentive pay: Continuance of the AMPP incentive plan for meeting performance measures, which was to be killed in an earlier contract version.
• Retirement: Company 401(k) match increased to 100% of the first 8% contributed, alongside a 4% automatic company contribution. There will also be a one-time $5,000 contribution to workers’ 401(k)s.
• Pension boost for vested employees: Vested employees who didn’t cash out their pension years ago will see an increase.
Plus a one-time $7,000 bonus for all the IAM 751 machinists at Boeing if this contract is ratified.
The contract also has an enforcement rule that limits Boeing’s ability to outsource job roles to subcontractors after union workers in those roles retire or leave.
The original tentative contract workers voted down in September had a 25% general wage increase, killed the AMPP program and put that money to the 401(k), had no pension boost, and had a lower ratification bonus.
The latest contract version was hashed out between Boeing and IAM District 751 with oversight from the Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor in the Biden Administration. The tentative agreement was announced Saturday.
Other terms of the Sept. 8 contract offer which workers declined last month would stay the same, both parties said. The Sept. 8 contract contained a commitment that Boeing’s next major commercial airplane would be built in Washington state.
The union initially sought a 40% pay increase and to restore the pension, among other points.
The union said it achieved more than 40% wage growth in this new contract. Union-produced reference graphs suggest a near-40% pay wage increase when compounded by cost-of-living adjustments built into the contract.
Earlier this month, Boeing announced it would cut 10% of its workforce, or 17,000 people, and delay producing the 777X built in Everett until 2026. It also announced it would end production of the 767 freighter derivative when it completes its run in 2027.
Boeing Everett builds the 767 freighter, the 777 passenger jet, the 777 freighter, has one of Boeing’s four 737 MAX lines, plus the KC-46 tanker military derivative of the 767. Final assembly of the 787 Dreamliner is now in South Carolina.
A 777X-based freighter for Everett, the 777-8F, is thought to start by 2027. At the time, 777X passenger jets were hoped to begin production in 2023. Aviation analysts alternatively believe a 787 freighter is in the works; concepts of one were shown to potential customers in 2022.
As of the end of 2023, about 66,000 Boeing employees are in Washington state; the other 103,000 or so work around the country. For example, Boeing makes Patriot missile guidance system parts in Alabama, Apache helicopters in the Phoenix area and fighter jets in St. Louis.
IAM District 751 said in a statement that “the fact the company has put forward an improved proposal is a testament to the resolve and dedication of the frontline workers who’ve been on strike – and to the strong support they have received from so many.”
“The workers will ultimately decide,” the union said.
