It's a first at Boeing since 2008. On Thursday, September 12, employees at the Everett and Renton plants in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington, voted massively (96%) in favor of an unlimited strike starting the next day, rejecting the wage proposals made by the management of the world's second-largest aircraft manufacturer, which employees deemed insufficient.
"Our members spoke loud and clear," said Jon Holden, president of the International Association of Machinists (IAM-District 751) union, representing some 33,000 workers in the Pacific Northwest region, where the medium-haul 737 and wide-body 767 cargo and 777 aircraft are assembled.
It was a change of direction for the organization, which had initially supported management's proposal, saying it was unable to "guarantee [it would] achieve more in a strike." A good deal, the IAM union insisted, which sent Boeing shares up 3%. Two days later, it was rejected at 94.6% by the rank and file, and Boeing shares went down over 4% on Friday, even before Wall Street opened.
The last agreement dates back to 2008, signed at the end of a 57-day strike. Financial circles have not forgotten this, recalling that Boeing received around 60% of the price of the aircraft on delivery. Deliveries are already behind schedule, at a time when airlines are ordering ever more aircraft to renew and decarbonize their fleets.
A 50-day dispute would deprive Boeing of $3 billion to $3.5 billion in cash (€2.7 billion to €3.2 billion), at a daily loss of $70 million, and would have a $5.5 billion impact on sales, TD Cowen analysts calculated. In August, they were already warning that tensions in supply chains, which also affect Airbus, posed a major risk in the event of a strike.
The new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, who took the helm of Boeing at the beginning of August after the abrupt departure of Dave Calhoun, understood that he had to reaffirm the group's industrial footprint. The 64-year-old engineer decided to relocate the headquarters from Arlington, outside Washington, DC, to Seattle, close to the main assembly lines.
"We remain committed to resetting our relationship with our employees and the union, and we are ready to get back to the table to reach a new agreement," the aircraft manufacturer said after the vote. The previous proposal provided for a wage increase of 25% over four years, a far cry from the 40% demanded by employees, who are also expecting measures concerning retirement benefits. Rising prices are among Americans' top concerns, less than two months before the November 5 presidential election.
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