WASHINGTON: Boeing said on Sunday it had reached a tentative agreement with a union representing more than 32,000 workers in the US Pacific Northwest, in a deal that could help avert a possible crippling strike as early as Sept. 13.
The proposed four-year agreement, which includes a general wage increase of 25% and a commitment to build the next commercial airplane in the Seattle area, is an early win for new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took over last month.
The deal also includes 12 weeks of paid parental leave, improved job security, enhanced retirement benefits and other benefits. It would need to be approved on Thursday by Boeing factory workers near Seattle and Portland represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
“As part of the contract, our team in the Puget Sound region will build Boeing’s next new airplane. This would go along with our other flagship models, meaning job security for generations to come,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope in an employee message.
An accepted deal would secure labor peace for Boeing at a time when the planemaker is burning cash and trying to raise production of its strongest-selling 737 MAX to a target rate of 38 aircraft a month by the year’s end. It also avoids a strike that could have made Boeing a focus point in the 2024 presidential election. Boeing is wrestling with a quality crisis and faces scrutiny from regulators and customers, after a January incident when a door plug on a near-new MAX blew off an Alaska Air jetliner while in mid-air.
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