Boeing Factory workers assemble Boeing 787 airliners at the Boeing factory in Everett. (Vince Streano/Getty Images)
The Boeing factory worker strike that has stretched nearly two months, halting airplane manufacturing at plants around the Northwest, ended Monday after thousands of union members voted to approve a new contract offer from the aerospace giant.
While the deal will not bring back a defined benefit pension program that many striking workers had hoped to revive, it does include a 38% wage increase over the contract’s four-year span that would push average pay for the workers to just shy of $120,000 a year.
Workers will also receive a $12,000 ratification bonus, reinstated performance pay with a 4% guaranteed annual payout, and boosted 401(k) contributions from the company.
Average annual machinist pay will rise to $119,309 under the accepted offer, from the previous contract’s roughly $75,600 average, according to Boeing.
As with prior offers, the company included a guarantee to build its next commercial airplane model in the Puget Sound region. That promise is good while the contract lasts. But Boeing has no immediate plans for a new commercial airplane and is years behind schedule on its 777X manufactured in Everett.
Approval of the contract follows workers rejecting two prior offers, one before the strike began on Sept. 13 and one on Oct. 23.
Leadership of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers recommended workers approve the contract offer in the run-up to the vote, which took place on the eve of a presidential election that is consuming the attention of much of the country.
The contract offer was approved with 59% of union members voting in favor.
Machinists can return to work as early as the first shift on Wednesday, Nov. 6. They must go back by the beginning of their shifts on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Negotiations grew tense at times with both sides accusing the other of negotiating in bad faith. Union leadership especially bristled after Boeing released a non-negotiated “best and final offer” in late September. That proposal did not receive a vote.
Members of Washington’s congressional delegation, business groups, and others have urged the two sides to reach an agreement.
The union has credited Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su with helping move along negotiations.
The work stoppage has further battered Boeing’s already weakened finances. Last week, the company raised about $21 billion by selling stock to help shore up its balance sheet. This followed a reported third-quarter loss of $6.17 billion.
Anderson Economic Group, a consulting firm in Michigan, last week estimated that the strike had cost Boeing about $5.5 billion in lost earnings.
In October, the company said it would cut about 17,000 workers nationwide and has since indicated those plans would not change based on the outcome of the contract vote.
Boeing in recent years has seen high-profile safety lapses.
Problems with flight control systems on its 737 Max airplanes led to crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people, exposing gaps in the company’s safety culture and resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties.
And in January, an Alaska Airlines 737 flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a door panel blew out of the plane.
Workers fighting for higher pay and benefits have pointed to high executive pay. Critics also say a shift at the company over the years, toward a tougher stance with workers and suppliers, while prioritizing stock buybacks and shareholder dividends, led to some of its current woes.
“It’s time we all come back together and focus on rebuilding the business and delivering the world’s best airplanes,” Kelly Ortberg, who took over as the company’s CEO in August said last week when the latest contract proposal was released.
“There are a lot of people depending on us,” he added.