Boeing workers end 7-week strike with approval of new agreement

A seven-week strike by Boeing workers ended after 58% of union members voted to approve a new wage deal that would result in a 38% increase in earnings.

Following a vote on November 4, 2024, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) in Districts 751 and W24 announced that the new ratified contract will Boeing employees receive a compound salary increase of 43.65%.

IAM praised the deal for establishing “a new standard for compensation and wages for aerospace workers.”

The agreed proposal includes a 38% salary increase over four years, a $12,000 ratification bonus and an additional $5,000 payment that could be paid to employees as part of their salary or to an individual’s pension fund of $401k.

“With this victory and the strike that made it possible, IAM members have taken a stand for respect and fair wages in the workplace. Our members perform high-quality, flight-critical work on the aircraft we build and deserve a return on their labor investment that provides a quality of life worthy of that work,” John Holden, IAM District 751 President, and Brandon Bryant, President. district IAM W24, the joint statement said.

They added: “We are ready to help Boeing change direction and get back to building the best, safest airplanes in the world. “Without IAM there is no Boeing,” has been our battle cry, and we are once again ready to do our part to bring this company back to the standard it should never have strayed from.”

About 33,000 Boeing workers from across Washington state, Oregon and California were eligible to vote for the strike, which was said to be costing the planemaker $100 million a day.

“Although the last few months have been difficult for all of us, we are all part of the same team. We will only move forward by listening and working together. There is still a lot of work ahead to return to the excellence that has made Boeing an iconic company,” Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told employees.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg shared a statement about the approval of the four-year contract by our manufacturing and maintenance colleagues here in the Pacific Northwest. pic.twitter.com/2vDDWW1OV8

— Boeing Washington (@BoeingWA) November 5, 2024

IAM praised Labor Secretary Julie Su’s role in finding a solution and told Boeing employees they can return to work between November 6 and November 12, 2024.

The strikes began on September 13, 2024 and led to further delays in deliveries of Boeing 737, 787 and 777 aircraft.

Even before the strikes began, Boeing was struggling to recover from an incident in January 2024 in which a door seal came off an Alaska Airlines 737-9 shortly after takeoff.

The incident raised huge questions about Boeing’s safety and quality procedures in the aircraft manufacturing process.

Several whistleblowers appeared before Senate committees to expose questionable practices at Boeing facilities, and aircraft production slowed, leaving airlines around the world frustrated by undelivered planes.

On October 11, 2024, Ortberg told employees that the delivery date for the first 777X aircraft had been pushed back to 2026, while production of the MAX aircraft that year was also severely hampered.