By Tom Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Union machinists who make parts for Boeing's defense business approved a new contract on Sunday.
The 900 employees work for GKN Aerospace, which is a Boeing supplier.
Workers will get pay raises and also have to pay more for their health care next year. But the union says the increase is not as drastic as earlier proposals had proposed.
Nearly 60% of the machinists who work at GKN approved the deal yesterday; the tally was 439-312.
"We told the company all along there were some issues out there they needed to do a little better in, and most of those had to do with retirement," said union president Rick Smith.
"Retiree insurance for the new employees and higher benefits on pension. It more or less fell on deaf ears, but as you see, the membership spoke."
The pact will mean a 3% raise for workers next year and a 2% raise in each of the two years after that.