Boeing machinists received a new offer | Arkansas Democratic Newspaper

Boeing machinists union leaders received another contract offer in an attempt to end the ongoing strike, which entered its eighth week on Friday.

The union announced the proposal Thursday afternoon and recommended members approve the deal. The striking Machinists’ Union’s 33,000 members will vote on the proposal on Monday.

“Now is the time for our members to build on these gains and confidently claim victory,” the union wrote. “We believe that asking members to continue the strike any longer would be wrong as we have had so much success.”

The proposal includes a total wage increase of 38% over the next four years, amounting to about 43% over the life of the agreement, the union said in a statement Thursday. Salaries will increase by 13% in the first year, then by 9%, 9% and 7% in subsequent years.

A simple majority will determine whether the contract is accepted, putting the drivers back to work, or rejected, meaning the strike will continue. The strike shut down Boeing’s Renton and Everett plants in Washington and elsewhere.

“There is a point in every negotiation and strike where we have extracted all we can by negotiating and giving up our workforce,” the union said. “We are at this stage now and risk a regressive or lesser proposal in the future.”

The latest offer includes a $12,000 ratification bonus.

The $12,000 is a combination of the $7,000 ratification bonus and the one-time $5,000 contribution to the 401(k) plan that Boeing offered in its previous contract offer. This time, members will be able to choose how to split the $12,000 between their salary and 401(k) plan, the union said.

The offer retains many of the provisions of previous contract offers, including a minimum annual bonus of 4% and a 100% company 401(k) match up to 8%. It also increases the amount of money workers with pensions will receive per year.

He is not restoring the pension plan, which many union members have said in recent weeks is a priority.

If union members approve the deal and end the strike, the machinists must return to the plant by Nov. 12, according to a strike settlement agreement posted on the union’s website. The agreement also stated that all employees “will be returned to the same jobs they held prior to the strike.”

Boeing said in a statement Thursday that “we encourage all of our employees to learn more about the improved proposal” and vote on Monday.

In part to deal with the financial fallout from the strike, Boeing initiated a major stock sale this week.

It raised $21.1 billion to shore up its balance sheet, help avoid a credit downgrade and buy more time as the strike continues.

This is the third contract proposal the Machinists union will vote on since negotiations began last spring. Union members voted overwhelmingly against the first proposal, leading to a strike that began on September 13.

The union refused to bring Boeing’s second proposal to a vote in September because management said it did not meet members’ demands. Union leaders also objected to Boeing’s decision to disclose details of the proposal to the media shortly after it was presented to the union’s negotiating committee.

Union members voted against the offer of another contract in October, although the membership was more divided, with 64% voting to reject the offer and 36% voting to accept the agreement and end the strike.

About a week after that vote, the union met again with Boeing to “discuss key negotiating issues,” the machinists union said in a statement Tuesday night. Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su is helping with the negotiations.

Union members who voted against the latest contract proposal earlier this month said the deal does not offer a big enough pay increase and does not address other key issues such as paid leave and faster steps to advance employees in Boeing’s careers.

Other employees said they would not agree to a contract that did not restore the defined benefit pension plan.

In a bitter vote that still reverberates among engineering workers, the union voted 10 years ago to end the pension plan after Boeing threatened to pull some aircraft production out of the Puget Sound region.

Throughout these negotiations, Boeing has said that restoring the pension plan is not a start. But at the last vote on the contract, the drivers said they still hoped to see movement on their request. Some workers held signs reading “No pensions, no planes.”

After the votes were counted last time, Machinists Union District 751 President John Holden told reporters that the pension plan was “the crux of it all for a lot of people.” If Boeing doesn’t want to rebuild it, then “we have to get something to replace it,” Holden continued, such as higher wages, a larger 401(k) contribution or other options that provide some benefit.

The last few weeks of negotiations have become tense, with each side accusing the other of failing to negotiate in good faith. In September, machinists walked out of a strike over unfair labor practices. In October, Boeing filed an unfair labor practice charge against the Machinists Union leadership with the National Labor Relations Board.

As part of the strike settlement agreement, both sides will drop the charges brought to the labor board.

Boeing has steadily increased overall wage increases in its contract proposals, starting with a 25% increase over four years, then a 30% increase, then a 35% increase in its offer in early October. The latest proposal, unveiled on Thursday, includes a total wage increase of 38%.

It’s one of the highest wage increases in a machinists’ contract since 1977, according to the union.

Some contracts provided a lump sum payment of 12%, while most provided for annual general salary increases ranging from 7% to 2%.

Boeing said Thursday that the average annual salary for a machinist at the end of the proposed four-year contract will be $119,309.