Aviation: Boeing suspends negotiations, strike continues

Boeing announced Tuesday the withdrawal of the offer made to the IAM machinists’ union, which it accuses of having made unreasonable demands. Discussions to end the strike which has paralyzed its two main factories since mid-September have been suspended.

The American aircraft manufacturer made this decision, made official by an internal communication consulted by AFP. A third round of two-day negotiations concluded Tuesday.

Seattle area, birthplace of Boeing

The IAM (International Association of Machinists) union has declared a strike since September 13, affecting 33,000 members in the Seattle region, birthplace of Boeing.

The group’s two main factories in Renton (producing the 737, its best-selling aircraft) and Everett (producing the 777 and housing several military programs) are among the sites completely shut down.

In the internal letter, Boeing’s head of commercial aviation Stephanie Pope states that the aircraft manufacturer’s management submitted, during this third round of discussions, new proposals, improved compared to the previous version.

Salaries increased

The group has notably increased net salary and retirement pensions, according to the manager. “Unfortunately, the union did not take these proposals seriously,” preferring, according to her, to make “non-negotiable” demands that far exceed the limits of what is acceptable if we want to remain competitive.”

“Therefore, continuing negotiations would not make sense at this stage and we have withdrawn our offer,” concluded Stephanie Pope. Boeing nevertheless says it is ready, according to her, for new talks once the IAM is ready “to discuss an agreement that is respectful of our employees and preserves the future of our company”.

Difficult period for the manufacturer

“We will win our case,” reacted the IAM in a press release posted on its site, affirming that Boeing had refused “to propose any (new) salary increase”, career progression measures or contributions to the employment fund. employee pension.

The manufacturer, which is going through a difficult period due to production quality problems, has taken measures to preserve its cash flow during the walkout. In particular, he resorted to technical unemployment, which affects tens of thousands of group employees.

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