Boeing suspends negotiations with striking workers

Shortly after the strike started last month, Boeing Co. workers and supporters set up a striking station outside the manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington. Photo: Yehyun Kim / AFP/File
Source: AFP

Boeing on Tuesday suspended negotiations with its striking workers as it accused the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) of making unreasonable demands and withdrew its offer.

"The union made non-negotiable demands far in excess of what can be accepted if we are to remain competitive as a business," the US aerospace giant said in an email to employees late Tuesday. "Given that position, further negotiations do not make sense at this point and our offer has been withdrawn."

About 33,000 Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest have been on strike for nearly a month in a fight focused on higher wages and improved retirement benefits.

Workers complain of more than a decade of near-flat wages during a period when inflation has risen.

Boeing's most recent offer included a 30 percent wage hike.

Negotiations, which included the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, resumed Monday and continued into Tuesday, but no agreement was reached.

"Our team bargained in good faith and made new and improved proposals to try to reach a compromise, including increases in take-home pay and retirement," Boeing said in the email, adding that "the union did not seriously consider our proposals."

"We remain committed to finding a resolution and will work with the union when they are ready to bargain an agreement that recognizes our employees and preserves our company's future," the email read.

Separately, the company announced earlier Tuesday that it had delivered 33 new aircraft to customers in September in spite of the strike.

The aerospace giant delivered 27 Boeing 737 MAX jets assembled in Renton, Washington, which has gone quiet since the strike launched on September 13.

The 737 MAX planes were cleared for delivery by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to Boeing, which expects fewer deliveries in the coming period due to the strike.

Airlines receiving new MAX planes included United Airlines, Ryanair, Southwest Airlines, Air India, China Southern Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines.

Boeing also delivered four 787 Dreamliner planes, which are assembled at a non-union plant in Charleston, South Carolina that is not out on strike.

Boeing has delivered 291 aircraft through the end of the third quarter, down 22 percent from the same period in 2023.

Prior to the IAM strike, which has also shuttered an Everett plant where the 777 is assembled, the FAA had limited Boeing's production following a January incident on Alaska Airlines in which a panel blew out mid-flight, necessitating an emergency landing.

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Source: AFP