KUALA LUMPUR: American aircraft manufacturer The Boeing Company wants to renegotiate with factory workers who opted to reject a four-year contract deal and strike.
Boeing said it is looking to re-engage International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) on the new four-year contract deal that was rejected yesterday by IAM District 751 and District W24 union members.
"The message was clear that the tentative agreement we reached with IAM leadership was not acceptable to the members." "We remain committed to resetting our relationship with our employees and the union, and we are ready to get back to the table to reach a new agreement," Boeing said in a statement yesterday (Sept 13).
Some 33,000 IAM751 and IAMW24 union members who are also Boeing factory workers overwhelmingly said no to their company's new contract offer with 94.6 per cent rejecting the offer and 96 per cent voting to strike.
The result of the vote was announced by IAM President, Jon Holden at the headquarters of Boeing's largest union in Seattle.
"This is about respect. This is about addressing the past and this is about fighting for our future," he said to about 80 members in attendance who chanted 'Strike!' repeatedly.
Holden also said 'we strike at midnight.."
The Boeing factory workers that built the company's B737, B777 and B767 aircraft walked off their job at 12:01am Friday morning (Seattle time) causing aircraft production to temporarily stop.
It is not immediately known when the strike, the first in 16 years, will end. The strike in 2008 lasted for over 50 days. New Boeing aircraft deliveries are expected to be further delayed due to the production halt with airlines worldwide, including Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), feeling the hit as they wait for new airplanes.
On Aug 14, MAG group managing director Datuk Captain Izham Ismail said the company is waiting to receive another seven of the 25 B737 MAX 8 that Malaysia Airlines Bhd ordered in 2016 by end-2024.
"We were supposed to receive 12 but now it's seven. Will the number drop further? Maybe. We hope not," he told Business Times in an interview.
The IAM751 and IAMW24 union represents over 33,000 Boeing employees in Washington, Oregon and California. They support various Boeing operations, including commercial and defense aircraft production.
IAM is one of the largest labour unions in North America representing almost 600,000 diverse members working in the aerospace, airlines, defence, railroad, healthcare and automotive industries to name a few.
IAM said its members from across North America stand in solidarity with its members in the Pacific Northwest and California.
"We're incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication shown by the negotiating teams from IAMD751 and IAMW24 and the unwavering solidarity of our membership."
"Their tireless efforts have been on display throughout this entire process. Now, they will regroup and begin planning the next steps on securing an agreement that our membership can approve," IAM said in a statement yesterday.
On Sept 8, Boeing and IAM reached a tentative agreement on a new contract offer to the plane manufacturer's employees.
The offer includes a 25 per cent pay rise over four years – 11 per cent in year one, four per cent in year two and three and six per cent in year four.
It also includes lower healthcare cost, reduced mandatory overtime, 12 weeks of paid parental leave as well as job security with Boeing's commitment to build its next new commercial airplane, which has yet to be announced.
Union members however, wanted a 40 per cent pay increase instead, as they said that there was no pay raise for the last 16 years.
They also disagree with the loss of an annual bonus.