Mcdonnell Douglas Machinists On Strike

About 6,700 McDonnell Douglas machinists went on strike early today shortly after union leaders stormed out of negotiations with company officials.

The members of the International Association of Machinists local had overwhelmingly defeated the aerospace company’s latest contract proposal on Sunday.

The chief sticking point was outsourcing, in particular the company’s use of subcontractors and nonunion McDonnell Douglas plants for work once performed by St. Louis machinists.

Workers here build the F-15 and the F/A-18 fighters and the Navy’s T-45 training jet.