(Sept 26): Boeing Co and the union covering striking workers will resume stalled contract talks on Friday, as the embattled planemaker seeks to avoid a prolonged stoppage.
“The union is ready for this opportunity to bring forward the issues that members have identified as critical to reaching an agreement,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents the 33,000 striking Boeing employees, said in a statement late on Wednesday.
With the strike nearing its third week, the resumption of talks signals a thawing in the relationship between the union and Boeing. Workers rejected Boeing’s initial offer of a 25% pay increase, and the first round of mediated talks broke down last week without a deal being reached.
Boeing then made the 30% offer direct to workers, infuriating union leaders who slammed the attempt to bypass them as disrespectful.
The union kept up its tough talk in Wednesday’s statement.
“The company’s latest offer didn’t meet the needs of our members,” the union said. “After a decade of hard work and sacrifice to keep Boeing flying high, the company’s leadership rewarded themselves with record bonuses, while the workers who built those planes and carried the company through its darkest times struggled to make ends meet.”
The IAM District 751 has sought a 40% pay increase in what would be the first new contract in 16 years for the unionised workers at Boeing’s commercial airplane hub in the Pacific Northwest. The large pay demand would be to make up for the lack of a deal in between and pressures bought on by inflation and the cost of living.
The sparring has injected new tension into the need for Boeing and new chief executive officer Kelly Ortberg to find a quick resolution at a time when the cash-strapped planemaker can’t afford a long, drawn-out strike. An extended walkout would worsen Boeing’s already strained finances, after the company burned through more than US$8 billion (RM33.10 billion) in cash in the first half as it slowed output to address quality lapses exposed by an aircraft accident in January.
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