Striking Boeing workers to vote Thursday on offer with lower overall bonus

The more than 3,200 Boeing Defense workers, on strike since Aug. 4, will vote on the company’s latest offer on Thursday, union officials said Monday.

The company’s latest offer reduces the overall ratification bonus but offers workers more cash upfront if approved. Otherwise it is almost identical to offers previously rejected by members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837.

The three-monthlong strike has delayed deliveries of F-15 fighters to the U.S. Air Force and hampered production on some other programs, as well. The striking workers assemble Boeing’s F-15 and F/A-18 fighter jets, the T-7 trainer, munitions and wing sections for its commercial 777X jet at plants in the St. Louis area.

Since the strike began, Boeing management has refused to increase the value of its offer, which includes a 24% general wage increase over five years. The latest version includes a $6,000 bonus if workers approve the terms, up from $3,000 in the previous offer. However, Boeing cut $4,000 in bonuses available later during the contract’s duration.

The union has been pressing the planemaker for a higher ratification bonus and better retirement plan contributions, closer to what Boeing’s Seattle-area workers won last year.

If approved, IAM members would start returning to work as soon as Sunday night.

Boeing publicly made the proposal, circumventing the IAM bargaining committee. In recent weeks, the company has ignored the union’s calls for resuming contract talks. The IAM last month filed an unfair labor practice charge against the company with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing Boeing of bargaining in bad faith.

Boeing has said it is hiring permanent replacement workers as part of its contingency plan. However, union officials and workers told Reuters that it can take up to six months to get the required training and security clearances.

If IAM members approve the contract, all union members will be able to return to work, even if the company has hired a replacement worker for their position, Boeing Defense CEO Steve Parker said in an open letter on Monday.

He added that the company would not guarantee that assurance if this offer was rejected.

Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle, and Shivansh Tiwary and Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Alan Barona and David Gregorio