Boeing workers go on strike as White House calls for ‘good faith’ negotiations

Tens of thousands of Boeing workers walked off the job early on Friday after voting overwhelmingly to strike for higher pay, halting production of the planemaker’s strongest-selling jet as it wrestles with chronic output delays and mounting debt.

The company said on Friday it was ready to talk and “get back to the table to reach a new agreement” as striking workers picketed.

The newly installed Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg had pleaded with workers not to go on strike – the first since 2008 – ahead of the vote, saying the action would put the company’s “recovery in jeopardy”.

About 33,000 workers in Boeing’s US Pacific north-west region late on Thursday voted down a tentative agreement reached between their union and the company that included a 25% pay increase over four years. They voted in favor of a strike beginning on Friday at midnight Pacific time (7am GMT), which will halt production of the 737 Max.

Early on Friday afternoon, the White House said it was in contact with Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers representing the strikers and that it hoped they can reach a contract deal.

“We encourage them to negotiate in good faith – toward an agreement that gives employees the benefits they deserve and makes the company stronger,” the White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said.

Boeing workers voted 94.6% to reject the agreement, and 96% in favor of striking.

“This is about respect, this is about addressing the past, and this is about fighting for our future,” said Jon Holden, who headed the negotiations for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Boeing’s largest union.

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

In a statement released after the vote, Boeing said it was “ready to get back to the table” to negotiate a deal.

“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.

Earlier, a tentative agreement had been reached between the IAM and Boeing on 8 September after marathon bargaining sessions over the weekend, ahead of the contract expiration on Thursday. The agreement included 25% pay increases over the four-year contract, short of the 40% increase pushed by the union.

Union leadership recommended ratification but the local union president, Jon Holden, told the Seattle Times he expected members to reject the agreement given the overwhelming negative response to it.

“Boeing is saying they are in a tough spot recovering yet their executive salaries haven’t changed. COO [chief operating officer] Stephanie Pope makes over $300,000 every two weeks,” said a Boeing mechanic who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. They voted down the contract in favor of going on strike. “It is much deeper than pay and benefits. It is Boeing’s culture. We are a family here in my shop.”

Workers held a rally protesting against the tentative agreement outside Boeing’s production facility in Everett, Washington, earlier this week. Boeing has spent $68bn on stock buy-backs and dividends since 2010.

The company has been mired in scandal but has still paid huge salaries to top executives. Outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun received a 45% increase in 2023, to nearly $33m in 2023. Their ousted former CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, left with a golden parachute of $62m.

Ahead of the vote, Boeing pleaded with workers to approve the tentative agreement and not go on strike.

“I know the reaction to our tentative agreement with the IAM has been passionate. I understand and respect that passion, but I ask you not to sacrifice the opportunity to secure our future together, because of the frustrations of the past,” wrote Ortberg in a message to Boeing employees in Washington and Oregon.

“For Boeing, it is no secret that our business is in a difficult period, in part due to our own mistakes in the past. Working together, I know that we can get back on track, but a strike would put our shared recovery in jeopardy, further eroding trust with our customers and hurting our ability to determine our future together.”

Reuters contributed reporting