Boeing mechanical engineers reject new labor contract and extend strike that lasts more than five weeks

Boeing Machinists voted 64% against a new labor contract that would provide 35% wage increases over four years, their union said Wednesday, extending a more than five-week strike that has affected most of the company's aircraft production, which is concentrated in the Seattle area , brought to a standstill.

The rejection is another major setback for the company, which warned Wednesday that it would continue burning cash through 2025 and reported a quarterly loss of $6 billion, its largest since 2020. New CEO Kelly Ortberg said, Reaching an agreement with machinists is a priority to get the company back on the right track out of safety and quality crises.

The more than 32,000 Boeing machinists in the Puget Sound area, Oregon and other locations walked off their jobs on Sept. 13 after overwhelmingly voting against an earlier tentative deal that included a 25% pay raise. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union had originally called for a 40% wage increase. It is the first strike by machinists since 2008.

The latest proposal, announced last Saturday, included a 35% raise over four years, an increase in 401(k) contributions, a $7,000 bonus and other improvements.

Given the rising cost of living in the Puget Sound region, workers had pushed for higher wages. Some machinists were upset about losing their pension insurance in a previous contract they signed in 2014, but the last contract also did not provide for a pension.

In the new contract, Boeing agreed to build its next plane in the Pacific Northwest, which has also been a point of contention for union workers after Boeing moved all 787 Dreamliner production to a non-union factory in South Carolina.

The labor dispute is the latest in a long list of problems at Boeing that began the year when a door plug flew out in mid-air from a crowded Boeing 737 Max 9, its best-selling plane, drawing renewed scrutiny from regulators over the company.

The strike began as Boeing worked to ramp up production of the 737 and other aircraft.

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