(The Center Square) – The Boeing company has taken what it calls a “best and final offer” directly to striking machinists, bypassing union bargaining team negotiators.
More than 30,000 Boeing machinists walked off the job Sept. 13 after a tentative contract offering a 25% pay raise was rejected by nearly 95% of members.
The proposal offered Monday is for a 30% raise over four years which is still less than the 40% initially sought by the union.
Boeing said the terms are final and only valid until this Friday, Sept. 27, but union negotiators have already said they will not bring the new offer for a vote.
“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.”
In a statement emailed to The Center Square, Jon Holden, President of IAM District 751 said, “This does not give us enough time to present details to the membership or even secure all voting locations. It is vital that we negotiate a successful resolution to this strike.”
Holden’s statement indicated they contacted the company to demand they engage in either direct talks or a mediated discussion, but said the company has refused to meet.
Boeing said with the latest offer, average annual pay for machinists would rise from $75,608 now to $111,155 at the end of the four-year contract.
That consists of a 12% pay raise in year one, plus three annual raises of 6% each.
The offer made Monday would also double the size of ratification bonuses to $6,000 and would keep annual bonuses based on productivity.
Striking machinists on the picket line in Auburn Monday told The Center Square Boeing going around the union in presenting the offer is insulting.
“They went outside the union and that’s against the law for them to do that. It’s not a legal negotiation,” said striking members.
“Everything they posted is nothing that they and our union have negotiated at all. They just threw that out to the media to make us look bad,” said one striking machinist.
Boeing shares have tumbled 40% in value this year and the company introduced rolling furloughs of non-unionized employees last week to cut costs during the strike. That means taking one week off per month, unpaid.
Striking members received their final paychecks last week and will lose company-provided health insurance at the end of the month, according to Boeing.
As previously reported by The Center Square, the strike is yet another setback for a company having a rough go over the last few years with fatal crashes of Boeing’s 737 MAX planes in 2018 and 2019, blamed on faulty parts that affected flight controls.
A door panel blew off a 737 MAX 9 at 16,000 feet in January. The panel was later found to have four missing bolts.
Tuesday marks day 12 on the picket line for Boeing machinists.
