Boeing factory workers voted against the company’s latest contract offer and remain on the picket lines six weeks into a strike that has stopped production of the aerospace giant’s bestselling jetliners, according to the Associated Press. Local union leaders in Seattle said 64% of members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers who cast ballots Wednesday voted against accepting the contract offer.
The latest rejected offer included pay raises of 35% over four years. The version that union members rejected when they voted to strike last month featured a 25% increase over four years. The union, which initially demanded 40% pay boosts over three years, said the annual raises in the revised offer would total 39.8%, when compounded. Boeing has said that average annual pay for machinists is currently $75,608.
Boeing workers told Associated Press reporters that a sticking point was the company’s refusal to restore a traditional pension plan that was frozen a decade ago.
The strike has deprived the company of much-needed cash that it gets from delivering new planes to airlines. On Wednesday, the company reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion.
In recent weeks, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who began the role in August, announced large-scale layoffs — about 17,000 people — and a plan to raise enough cash to avoid a bankruptcy filing.
Boeing hasn’t had a profitable year since 2018, and Wednesday’s numbers represented the second-worst quarter in the manufacturer’s history. Boeing lost $6.17 billion in the period ended Sept. 30, with an adjusted loss of $10.44 per share. Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research had expected a loss of $10.34 per share.
Revenue totaled $17.84 billion, matching Wall Street estimates.
