Boeing machinists rallied Wednesday with no end in sight to their strike, which is now in its ninth week.
Hundreds gathered in Hazelwood at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 headquarters for a rally and speeches from several union and labor leaders.
Among the speakers was Jon Holden, president of IAM District 751 in Seattle which went on strike from Boeing late last year. He said his union voted to offer a $32,000 strike check to the St. Louis chapter, which was met with cheers from the members.
“I know how hard it is, and I know there’s probably families that are struggling, but we can do this if we stick together,” Holden said. “Our message is simple: stand together, fight together and win together.”
This rally came after negotiation talks on Monday failed to make progress toward a settlement. IAM Union Resident General Vice President Jody Bennett said the company did not make any changes to its previous offer that union membership rejected last month.
Boeing said the most recent offer boasted a 45% average general wage increase, and a 40% increase in the previous contract.
Union member Samantha Njenga said that is misleading.
“They count stuff in that not everybody qualifies for,” Njenga said. “I’m not gonna get 40%. I don’t know five people that are gonna get the 40%”
Boeing St. Louis Vice President of Air Dominance Dan Gillian said in a statement that the union walked away from talks with a federal mediator on Monday, but Bennett said this isn’t true.
“We didn’t walk out on talks,” Bennett said. “They…came back with the same offer that had previously been rejected. So at that point, the talks are over.”
On Tuesday, the union submitted a modified version of its own contract offer that 90% of its voting members approved. The original proposal, which was written by union leadership, had been previously dismissed by the company as “not real.” Bennett said the modified version kept the overall package the same but reallocated some funds.
Gillian said in a statement that the company would not discuss this offer with the union.
“The union continues to set false expectations with its members,” Gillian said. “We’ve made it clear we’re ready and willing to discuss proposals within the parameters of our market-leading offer that union leadership has twice endorsed, not modifications to their self-drafted proposal.”
Gillian said the company will continue carrying out its contingency plan and hiring replacements. Last week, the company announced it would move upgrade work on the F/A-18 fighter jet out of St. Louis by 2026, but said this was not related to the strike.
Union member Sonya Kennett believes that announcement and the threat to hire replacement workers, are scare tactics to get the union to return to work.
“These people are not trained, they're not certified, and the company claims that they're doing it, but there's no way, because this takes years,” Kennett said.
No further talks are scheduled, but Bennett said the union is ready to meet with Boeing. Federal mediators are not currently working due to the government shutdown, but union officials are trying to get them back to work.
Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley both brought up the St. Louis strike during a nomination hearing for the National Labor Relations Board. Sanders and Hawley criticized the company during the hearing. Scott Mayer, one of the nominees, is the chief labor counsel for Boeing.
