Boeing workers have ended their 53-day strike after 33,000 frontline workers at Boeing, members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Districts 751 and W24 voted to ratify a new union contract with the aerospace company.
IAM said the new contract includes a 43.65% compounded wage increase – 38% before compounding – over the four-year life of the contract.
IAM said the new offer includes an immediate 13% raise, followed by 9% hikes in each of the next two years, and a 7% increase in the fourth and final year of the contract, resulting in a total pay increase of over 43%. Additionally, workers will also receive a $12,000 ratification bonus, part of which can be contributed to their 401(k) retirement accounts.
Further, the Aerospace Machinists Performance Plan (AMPP) is reinstated, with a guaranteed minimum annual payout of 4%, including 2024 payout in February 2025.
In addition, there will be 401(k) employer match of 100% up to 8%, with special company retirement contribution of 4% into 401(k) maintained. The new contract also has $105 pension multiplier per year for those vested in the pension plan.
The machinists who work on Boeing's best-selling 737 MAX, as well as the 767 and 777 widebody jets seeking a 40% wage increase and the reinstatement of a defined-benefit pension that was lost ten years ago.
The end of Boeing's largest union's first strike in 16 years offers much-needed relief to a company that has struggled with a series of setbacks since January, Reuters reported.
"This is a victory. We can hold our heads high," Jon Holden, the union's lead negotiator, told members.
The new contract, however, will not reinstate the traditional pension plan that was lost in 2014 under their previous labor contract. Frustration over the loss of the pension plan was a key reason behind the rejection of Boeing's previous two offers.
However, the union leadership asked the members to accept the latest offer, though it was only slightly different from the Oct. 23 proposal they rejected. The union urged the members to "lock in these gains and confidently declare victory," warning that another rejection could lead to a "regressive or lesser offer in the future."
According to International Association of Machinists (IAM), 59% of the members voted in favor of the new contract.
"For many frontline Boeing workers in the IAM Union, the terms of this contract will be life-changing," said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary R. Allen. "It's the most significant upgrade we've had to our collective bargaining agreement in a decade – and it will prove to be an example for the rest of the industry to live up to. Their strike was a great example of workers standing up for not just themselves, but also their families and communities."
The union also thanked acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su who worked on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration to help restart and reach a positive resolution to negotiations that had previously stalled.
After accepting Boeing's latest offer, the U.S. West Coast factory workers, who have been on strike since September, will return to work on Wednesday, the union stated, CNN reported.
