The local machinists union has reached a tentative agreement with Boeing St. Louis.
Members of IAM District 837 have been on strike for over a month after rejecting two contracts from the company.
The five-year tentative agreement includes a 45% average general wage increase and a $4,000 bonus for ratifying the contract, Boeing St. Louis Vice President of Air Dominance Dan Gillian said Wednesday afternoon.
Gillian said after the union and the company had an unsuccessful meeting with a federal mediator Tuesday afternoon, they continued discussions that evening and into Wednesday morning.
"Those conversations were productive," Gillian said. "Certainly bringing the ratification bonus back was important."
A previous contract offer covered four years with a 40% general wage increase and no signing bonus. The contract that was voted down Aug. 3 included a $5,000 ratification bonus that was later removed. This was one of the main concerns of union members.
Another major concern from the previous offer was that employees at the top of the pay scale did not receive the same wage increase as other employees and received 5% lump sums in the second and third years of the contract rather than a wage increase.
With the modified offer, the highest paid employees will receive a general wage increase in years one, three and five, and the lump sum payments in years two and four, Gillian said.
All other elements of the previous contract remain unchanged.
Union members will vote on the agreement between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Friday at St. Louis Music Park.
“I really encourage everybody to come out and vote on Friday,” Gillian said. “In the last offer, almost 30% of the union didn’t vote.”
If the union votes to approve the contract on Friday, union members will return to work on Tuesday.
Union members on the picket line declined to comment on the tentative agreement, but one said she had only been told about it only 30 minutes prior.
A spokesperson for IAM said the negotiating committee is neutral on the offer.
