Boeing Workers Vote 96% To Go On Strike

Boeing's U.S. West Coast factory workers will go on strike after 96% voted in favor of the action, halting production of the planemaker's best-selling jet.

Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) voted 96% in favor of striking and 94.6% to reject the proposed contract. I Photo: Machinists Union Facebook

This comes as Boeing struggles with chronic output delays and increasing debt, according to a report by Joe Brock, David Shepardson, and Allison Lampert for Reuters.

The workers' first strike since 2008 began at midnight Pacific time (0700 GMT) as Friday started. The strike comes just weeks after new CEO Kelly Ortberg took charge in August, following an incident in January when a door panel blew off a near-new 737 MAX jet mid-air.

About 30,000 workers who produce Boeing's 737 MAX and other jets in the Seattle and Portland areas voted on their first full contract in 16 years. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) voted 96% in favor of striking and 94.6% to reject the proposed contract.

"This is about respect, addressing the past, and fighting for our future," said Jon Holden, who led the negotiations for IAM, Boeing's largest union, before announcing the vote results.

“We strike at midnight,” he declared, as members at the union hall cheered and chanted: "Strike! Strike! Strike!"

The rejected deal included a general wage increase of 25%, a $3,000 signing bonus, and a promise to build Boeing's next commercial jet in the Seattle area, provided the program is launched within the four-year contract period.