Boeing makes ‘best and final offer’ to machinists, proposing bigger raises and bonuses

Boeing announced Monday that it had made a “best and final offer” to striking union machinists, proposing larger raises and bonuses in an effort to end a strike that began on September 13.

The revised offer includes a 30% pay raise over four years, an increase from the 25% raise in the previously rejected proposal.

Boeing’s latest offer highlights the company’s urgency in resolving the strike involving about 33,000 machinists who assemble some of Boeing’s best-selling planes.

The new proposal also doubles the size of ratification bonuses to $6,000 and maintains annual productivity bonuses.

However, the offer does not restore a traditional pension plan, a significant point of contention that led 94.6% of union members to reject the earlier contract.

The company’s latest offer is contingent on members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voting to ratify the contract by Friday night, as the strike will then be over two weeks old.

Boeing has been feeling the financial impact of the strike, introducing rolling furloughs for nonunion employees and freezing hiring to cut costs.

Meanwhile, striking workers are also under financial pressure, as they received their final paychecks last week and will lose company-provided health insurance by the end of the month.

The company reiterated a commitment to build its next new airliner in the Seattle area, a key provision for union leaders.

Boeing’s production of 737s, 777s, and 767s has halted due to the strike, though work on the 787 continues in South Carolina with nonunion employees.

In response to Boeing’s offer, IAM President Brian Bryant released the following statement:

Right now, the latest proposal from the company is being reviewed. Some of the top priorities to achieve a settlement remain and always have been ensuring respect and fair pay, recognition of the sacrifices these workers have made, along with progress on retirement security and other key issues. Boeing executives have always known they could do better and this proposal shows the company can do better. This news validates every step that hardworking Boeing employees have taken on the picket line thus far. Employees knew Boeing executives could do better, and this shows the workers were right all along. The proposal will be analyzed to see if it’s up to the task of helping workers gain adequate ground on prior sacrifices.

Source: Associated Press

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