BERKELEY, Mo. — Boeing may narrowly avoid a strike at its three St. Louis-area facilities after it made a new contract proposal to the union here.
Local Boeing workers had voted to reject the company's previous offer and initiate a strike, which was scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. Monday. Instead, workers will vote Wednesday on a new offer the company reached after an overnight bargaining session, according to the union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837.
The three-year contract will cover nearly 2,500 workers in north St. Louis County, St. Charles and Mascoutah, Illinois. They make defense aircrafts including the F-15, F-18, T-7A trainer and MQ-25 refueling drone.
In contract negotiations, the union has been pushing for general wage increases, a faster path for workers to climb the pay scale and improvements to 401(k) plans.
The new proposal withdraws some of the changes to the retirement plan from the previous draft, and includes an $8,000 lump-sum payment, which employees can choose to defer into their 401(k) plans.
Boeing said in a statement Saturday that it is hopeful workers will vote to approve the contract.
The last workers' strike here was in 1996, against McDonnell Douglas, the year before it merged with Boeing.
———
