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Boeing’s machinists’ strike is officially over after almost two months, with union members voting to take a new pay deal.
Fifty-nine per cent of members approved the agreement, the fourth put forward by the planemaker, which increases pay by 38 per cent over four years and awards extra bonuses for ratification and productivity but does not bring back a pension plan frozen almost 10 years ago.
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The deal will allow construction to restart on a number of aircraft including 737s, 777s and 767 freighters. The end of the strike has huge implications for the Australian aviation industry, with Virgin having another 18 737 MAX 8s on order and Qantas 12 787 Dreamliners.
“While the past few months have been difficult for all of us, we are all part of the same team,” Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a message to staff.
“We will only move forward by listening and working together. There is much work ahead to return to the excellence that made Boeing an iconic company.”
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which asked its members to vote in favour of the deal, hailed it as a victory for the workers and indicated that the 33,000 employees on strike can return to work as early as Wednesday or as late as next Tuesday.
Brian Bryant, IAM international president, said it “sends an inspiring message to all workers in the United States who are seeking to join unions or who have been shortchanged by their employer”.
“This agreement represents a new standard in the aerospace industry – one that sends a clear statement that aerospace jobs must be middle-class careers in which workers can thrive,” Bryant said.
“Workers in the aerospace industry, led by the IAM — the most powerful aerospace union in the world — will not settle for anything less than the respect and family-sustaining wages and benefits they need and deserve.
“This agreement reflects the positive results of workers sticking together, participating in workplace democracy, and demonstrating solidarity with each other and with the community during a necessary and effective strike.”
The industrial action, which began in mid-September, has severely damaged Boeing’s bottom line, with estimates it has cost the aerospace giant nearly US$10 billion.
