Boeing seven-week strike ends as workers accept new pay raise

Workers at Boeing’s US West Coast Seattle plant on Monday, the 4th of November, ended a seven-week strike that halted most jet production and deepened the financial crisis at the already struggling plane maker by accepting a new contract offer that includes a 38% wage increase over four years, after rejecting two previous offers, reports Reuters.

The union said 59% of its members supported the new offer.

“This is a victory. We can hold our heads high,” Jon Holden, the union’s chief negotiator, told union members after announcing the results of the deal. “Now our job is to get back to work.”

Some 33 000 mechanics who build the popular 737 MAX, as well as the 767 and 777, went on strike on the 13th of September. They demanded a 40% wage increase and the return of the pension plan they lost ten years ago when the company switched to a different pension plan.

The company’s new offer, to which the union agreed, includes a 38% wage increase, a 12 000-dollar bonus for each union member, but will not restore the previous pension plan.

Analysts estimate that Boeing was losing around 100 million US dollars a day because of the strike, so last week the aircraft manufacturer raised 24 billion US dollars from investors in a bid to maintain its investment grade credit rating.

Boeing announced that the average annual salary for mechanics would rise to 119 309 US dollars a year from 75 608 US dollars.

More than 26 000 union members took part in the vote, almost 80% of the workforce.

The first Boeing strike in 16 years is a big relief for the company, which has faced many problems since a door panel came off a new 737 MAX in January during a flight.

It will take several weeks for the company to restore production. Employees will be able to return to work on Wednesday, but some will need retraining after a long absence.