The News
Tens of thousands of Boeing factory workers went on strike Friday for the first time since 2008, after rejecting a deal that included a 25% pay increase over four years, in another blow to the company amid safety concerns and a growing debt burden.
“The message was clear that the tentative agreement we reached with IAM leadership was not acceptable to the members,” Boeing said in a statement, in reference to the almost 95% of union members who rejected the pay deal. The company said it was ready to go back to the negotiating table and reach a new agreement.
The strike is unlikely to immediately disrupt commercial flights, but is expected to halt production of its commercial airplanes. The walkout comes a month after aerospace industry veteran and engineer Kelly Ortberg took over as Boeing’s chief executive.
Boeing’s strike is the latest in a series of labor actions that surged in 2023 in what was dubbed as ”hot labor summer.” Supply chain issues brought on by the pandemic significantly upended companies’ relationship with employees, Bloomberg’s Industrial Strength newsletter wrote: “Unions have realized that they are the ones with the leverage — not the companies — and they’re pushing it to their advantage.”