The decision to strike was made by Boeing workers in the Seattle area. During the relevant vote, 96% of the employees were in favor of this move.
The decision will halt production of the company’s best-selling plane at a time when Boeing is facing chronic production delays and mounting debt.
The first strike by the company’s workers since 2008 will begin at midnight (local time, 10:00 Greek time), weeks after new CEO Kelly Ortberg took office in August to restore confidence in the company after a door had been detached in flight from a nearly new 737 MAX jet.
About 30,000 workers who build Boeing’s 737 MAX and other jets in the Seattle and Portland areas were being asked to vote on their first full labor contract in 16 years.
Under International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) rules, at least two-thirds of unionized workers had to vote in favor of a strike to go ahead and reject the contract.
Boeing workers voted 96% to strike and 94.6% to reject the deal.
The deal included a 25 percent across-the-board wage increase, a $3,000 signing bonus, and a promise to build the next commercial jet in the Seattle area, provided the construction program begins within four years of signing. of the agreement.
Although IAM leadership recommended last Sunday that its members accept the contract, many workers responded angrily, backing the original demand for a 40 percent pay rise and lamenting the loss of an annual bonus.
On Wednesday, Ortberg sent a letter to workers urging them to approve the deal.
Some workers were already preparing that day for picketing. A union member left a meeting Wednesday holding a “Strike Against Boeing” sign under his arm.
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