Boeing has made what the company is calling its “best and final offer” for a renewed contract to 33,000 striking machinists and aerospace workers on Monday.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) has been on strike for nearly two weeks now after the union rejected Boeing’s offer for a renewed contract on Sept. 12.
The offer bumps Boeing’s previous general wages increase offer of 25% to 30% and doubles the ratification bonus for employees from $3,000 to $6,000. It also reinstates the AMPP performance and incentive plan for machinists while removing the proposed IAM 401(k) that was previously set to replace it.
Additionally, the offer increases Boeing’s 401(k) plan company match from 75% to 100% of the first 8% an employee contributes. The automatic 4% additionally contributed by the company remains the same.
Boeing stated that all other terms of the Tentative Agreement stay the same, and Monday’s offer is contingent on ratification by 11:59 p.m. this Friday.
In a news release emailed Monday afternoon, IAM International President Brian Bryant said that Boeing’s latest proposal shows that executives can do better.
“Right now, the latest proposal from the company is being reviewed. Some of the top priorities to achieve a settlement remain and always have been ensuring respect and fair pay, recognition of the sacrifices these workers have made, along with progress on retirement security and other key issues,” Bryant said in the release. “Boeing executives have always known they could do better and this proposal shows the company can do better. This news validates every step that hardworking Boeing employees have taken on the picket line thus far. Employees knew Boeing executives could do better, and this shows the workers were right all along. The proposal will be analyzed to see if it’s up to the task of helping workers gain adequate ground on prior sacrifices.”
In a Friday interview with AirlineGeeks, Bryant said that stagnant wages and an insufficient retirement plan were core issues expressed by workers on the picket line. Analysts have predicted that these strikes could cost Boeing $3.5 billion if the strikes continue through the end of the month.
The union has yet to indicate if it will ratify or reject Boeing’s final offer.
