- Boeing workers just rejected a proposal with a 35% wage increase over four years.
- The strike has halted most of Boeing’s manufacturing for over five weeks.
- Boeing’s earnings missed analyst expectations by over 18% amid the ongoing strike.
Boeing machinists have rejected a new proposal that included a 35% wage increase over four years, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 751 said Wednesday.
The strike has been going on for five weeks and has halted most of the plane maker’s manufacturing.
Along with the wage hike, the new proposal raised a signing bonus from $3,000 to $7,000. It was rejected by 64% of union workers, according to the IAM.
“After 10 years of sacrifice, we still have ground to make up. We hope to resume negotiations promptly,” the IAM said in a statement on X on Wednesday.
Boeing reported third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, with a net loss of over $6 billion. This brings the company’s total losses in 2024 to nearly $8 billion.
CEO Kelly Ortberg, who joined in August, addressed the stoppage on Wednesday’s earnings call.
“First and foremost on everybody’s mind today is ending the IAM strike. We’ve been feverishly working to find a solution that works for the company and meets our employees’ needs,” Ortberg said.
The strike, which started on September 13, began after workers rejected a proposal to raise pay by 25% over four years, demanding 40%. The company’s second offer of 30% was withdrawn after talks broke down.
According to figures provided by the union and company, the average pay for Boeing machinists has risen about 15% over the past decade to $75,000. The cost of living in the US has risen 33% in the same period, according to government inflation data.
Analysts at Anderson Economic Group estimated that the first month of Boeing’s 33,000-worker strike cost the company and workers $5 billion. The last strike, in 2008, shuttered plants for eight weeks and hit revenue by an estimated $100 million per day.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment, sent outside standard business hours.
