A Boeing worker works outside the cockpit of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft at the Boeing Factory in Renton, Washington, on March 27, 2019.
Stephen Brasher | Getty Images
Boeing Unions representing some 33,000 workers at the company signed a new collective agreement just days before a costly strike was set to begin at the plane maker’s main factory.
The tentative agreement includes a 25 percent pay raise over four years and other improvements in health care and retirement benefits, said the International Union of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents workers at Boeing plants in the Seattle area and Oregon. It also gets a commitment from Boeing to build its next generation of planes in the Pacific Northwest, the union said.
Workers still have to ratify the agreement, but avoiding a strike is a victory for new CEO Kelly Ortberg, who has vowed to lead the company back to stability after a safety and quality crisis.
“The company is in a financially strained position due to a series of self-inflicted failures and it is up to IAM members to get the company back on track,” the union said in a statement Sunday. “Whenever a plane leaves the factory, our reputation is on the line and this proposal will help keep our traditions alive.”
The vote is scheduled for Sept. 12, according to the union.
The current agreement was due to expire on Thursday and a strike could have started immediately if no agreement was reached. The union had been demanding a pay increase of more than 40 percent.
“This proposed contract offers the largest prevailing wage increase in history, reduced health care costs through reduced health care copayments, increased company contributions to retirement benefits and improved work-life balance,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope said in a statement.
