Negotiations remain stalled in the ongoing St. Louis Boeing workers strike, now in its eighth week.
Machinists union Resident General Vice President Jody Bennett said Tuesday he has still not received a formal response to the contract proposal the union submitted to the company on Friday.
Union members present at Friday’s vote approved the contract 90% to 10%. The company issued a statement in response that said: “It’s unfortunate that union leadership led its members to vote on something that isn’t real. Our previous offer is real and would make our team among the highest paid manufacturing employees in the St. Louis area.”
A Boeing spokesperson said Tuesday that the statement should be considered an official rejection.
Bennett said the union is ready to return to negotiating and has asked for dates to meet, but the company has not responded.
“Any unwillingness to come and meet, it's not by the union, it's by Boeing itself,” Bennett said.
Bennett said he remains unconvinced that the company will be able to successfully hire replacement workers for the approximately 3,200 people on strike.
Union representative Hasan Solomon said the union reached out to President Donald Trump for support but has not heard back.
It has received bipartisan public support from other politicians, including U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley and U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski.
