An End to The Boeing Strike?

An End to The Boeing Strike?

Alexandra Carroll 

Staff Writer

One of the largest manufacturers in the United States, the Boeing Corporation, faced one of the most significant strikes in its history for the past seven weeks. Boeing employees began their strike on September 13 after 33,000 employees rejected a previously proposed deal, NPR reports. While many expected the strike to continue longer, an end was in sight. Reuters reports that as of November 4, Boeing and its employees are breathing easier after the latest agreement was passed by a 59 percent margin. However, doubts remain whether this deal is satisfactory for all.

The recent strike started  after a negotiated contract between Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) failed, with 96 percent of IAM voters rejecting the deal. The rejection came after calls for reinstated pension benefits and a 25 percent wage increase over four years that was not addressed in the deal, according to Vox. During the strike, another agreement was voted on, which would have included a 35 percent increase in pay; this also failed, with the majority of IAM members voting against it on the grounds that there was no plan to restore pension benefits. According to the Associated Press, pension benefits have been a battleground for many Boeing employees after the company removed pension benefits  as a concession to keep production in the Seattle, Washington area.

Boeing continues to count its losses from the strike, which amounted to $9.6 billion as of last week, according to Anderson Economic Group, a consulting service for firms. Workers on strike forfeited $808 million in wages, with Boeing and its shareholders having losses estimated at $5.5 billion. NPR notes that the company plans to lay off 10 percent of its global workforce, which amounts to about 17,000 employees. The ongoing strike has caused ripple effects across the aerospace industry as people outside of Boeing are affected by the loss of manufacturing power. With production halted, Boeing aerospace manufacturers are also feeling the freeze as furloughs and layoffs are introduced as measures to prevent more loss on their ends. Reuters reported that aerospace supplier Independent Forge may need to cut its work week from five days to three in a cost-cutting measure. US News estimated that 44,000 out of the 46,000 declines in manufacturing jobs this past October was a result of the Boeing strikes.

This current strike is not Boeing’s first. Over Boeing’s nearly 110-year lifespan, the aeronautical giant has contended with IAM strikes eight times, with the first dating back to 1948 and was the longest strike in Boeing’s history, lasting 140 days as recorded on a timeline by MyNorthwest News. Before the current strike, Boeing workers went on strike in 2023. Boeing’s debt is also on its long list of worries, amounting to $57.9 billion in the second quarter of 2024, according to Reuters.

2024 has been a troubling year for Boeing as it tries to come back from a January incident involving a door plug flying off a Boeing 737 MAX and whistleblower reports of ignored manufacturing defects. However, the newly voted-on agreement will provide much-needed relief for Boeing. The Associated Press reported that the new deal would consist of a 38 percent wage increase over the next four years, a new ratification bonus of $12,000, and an increase in 401k contributions by Boeing. Pension benefits are still noticeably absent, but IAM encouraged its members in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, telling them to “lock in these gains and confidently declare victory… [because] we have extracted everything that we can in bargaining and by withholding our labor.”

Despite the agreement vote advertised as a win for union workers, those who voted against this final agreement are still left with a bitter taste in their mouths, with one worker telling Reuters that the union leadership had a “defeatist mindset.” It is not hard to imagine what else the union could have pushed for, such as advocating for pension benefits to be unfrozen or brought back. The gains won by the strikers are undoubtedly enormous, many are still questioning how the wage increase will keep up rising inflation rates and increased costs of living in the Seattle area. Boeing has shown repeatedly that it is unwilling to give benefits to its workers without a fight. As such, expect to see union workers on the picket lines again in a few years when the next proposal goes sour.

Image courtesy of Getty Images