The St. Louis-area machinists union on Sunday voted 51% to 49% against a modified contract proposal after striking for three months against what they said had been “insulting” offers from Boeing.
The vote marked the fourth time the union has struck down company proposals since contract negotiations began this summer. The union rejected the company’s latest offer which included a 1.5% general wage increase and a 2.5% lump sum in year four for top-paid employees.
The offer also included $3,000 of restricted stock units, but cut down on attendance additives. Union representatives said the contract also removes language that allowed managers and non-union workers to perform bargaining unit work.
In a statement, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers President Brian Bryant said: “Boeing claimed they listened to their employees – the result of today’s vote proves they have not. Boeing’s corporate executives continue to insult the very people who build the world’s most advanced military aircraft — the same planes and military systems that keep our servicemembers and nation safe. Our members aren’t going to be fooled by PR spin. It’s well past time for Boeing to stop cheaping out on the workers who make its success possible and bargain a fair deal that respects their skill and sacrifice.”
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 and the company most recently resumed negotiations on Oct. 20 after the union filed an unfair labor practice complaint, alleging the company was refusing to bargain in good faith. Boeing denied that claim.
The company last week presented union leadership with a modified version of its previous five-year contract that members voted down in September.
The union initially refused to bring that contract proposal before members for a vote, but changed course on Oct. 23 after further discussions.“We’ve said it many times, and we’ll say it again: We will not vote on an insulting offer,” the union’s bargaining committee said on Oct. 22.
Boeing in St. Louis largely focuses on the company’s defense arm, including a recent government contract to build the Air Force’s next-generation fighter jet, the F-47. About 3,200 unionized members work in facilities located in St. Louis, St. Charles and Mascoutah.
Boeing St. Louis Vice President of Air Dominance Dan Gillian said in a letter to employees last week that if the vote passed, they’d be back to work by Nov. 3.
“To fund the increases in this offer, we had to make trade-offs by reducing the amount of the annual attendance progression and additive by $0.25 per hour,” Gillian’s statement reads. “We were also able to address concerns raised by the union in the strike settlement agreement.”
In addition to the general wage increase and a lump sum in year four to top-paid employees, the contract also split the $4,000 ratification bonus into $3,000 in year one and $1,000 in year four.
