Strike

Two days before International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 members are set to vote on a union-proposed contract, Missouri Jobs With Justice organized a rally to support the strikers.

If union members vote yes, the offer will be submitted to Boeing as a pre-approved agreement.

The five-year contract would have raised the average general wage increase from 40% to 45% and included a $4,000 signing bonus.

The contract includes an average 45% wage increase. If the contract is approved when union members vote Friday, it will end a strike that has lasted more than a month.

Union workers on the picket line said they don’t believe the company will be able to find skilled workers to replace them.

The move has escalated tensions between Boeing and the union, which wants higher wages and better benefits.

Company leadership said the economics of the contract will remain the same.

Union members on strike want Boeing to agree to an added sign-on bonus, a higher general wage increase, more vacation time and other benefits.

After rejecting the company’s second proposed contract, union members began striking Monday. They said they will not stop until they receive a fair deal.

Union members from facilities in St. Louis, St. Charles and Mascoutah voted to reject a four-year labor agreement with Boeing after an earlier version of the proposal failed on July 27.