And three! The more than 33,000 striking Boeing workers are once again called upon to vote on Monday on a draft social agreement providing for a wage increase very close to their demands, but not the restoration of the old retirement system.
The project announced Thursday evening by IAM-District 751, branch of the machinists' union (IAM) in the Seattle region (northwest) which has been negotiating with the American aircraft manufacturer since May, proposes a 38% wage increase on four years of the social agreement. The union demanded 40%.
The strike has been going on since September 13.
Mike Corsetti, quality inspector for thirteen years at Boeing, said he was “going back and forth” between ratifying and rejecting this offer but, on the eve of the weekend, he was leaning towards the second option. “I think Boeing can do better. They can give us back our pension and do more in terms of work-life balance,” he says.
Like many employees, he wants the reestablishment of the system with a guaranteed amount of retirement pension – 42% of current union members had it -, abolished by a social agreement in 2014 in favor of a capitalization system.
For Boeing, this backpedaling is inconceivable because it is “excessively expensive”.
Will the new conditions be enough to convince the diehards to ratify this text? A simple majority is sufficient.
– “Ensemble” –
“It's time we all come together and focus on getting the company back to producing the best planes in the world,” Kelly Ortberg, Boeing's boss since August, said in a message to employees Friday.
“A lot of people depend on us,” he pleaded. “Make sure you vote on Monday.”
According to the president of IAM-District 751, Jon Holden, interviewed by the Seattle Times, Kelly Ortberg told him that in the event of another rejection, “the next offer (would be) less favorable” than the one currently on the table.
This is the fourth offer made by Boeing since the beginning of September, but the third on which members are called to vote.
The very first, rejected on September 12 by nearly 95% of union members who also voted for an immediate strike, provided for an increase of 25%. Boeing then rose to 30%, then 35% and, finally, 38%.
The group also reintroduced an annual bonus (4% of annual salary), increased the ratification bonus (from 3,000 to 12,000 dollars now) and increased the contribution to the capitalization retirement plan.
It has maintained its commitment to manufacturing its next plane – expected by 2035 – in the Seattle region, birthplace of Boeing, which represents a guarantee of tens of thousands of jobs for several decades.
“This offer is pretty good,” said Kamie Bryan, an 18-year Boeing employee who decided to approve it this time. “Everyone I’ve talked to since it’s been public likes it.”
– Food bank –
With the strike, she says she can “hold on financially until December” but “I have a lot of unionized brothers and sisters who are struggling”, mentioning recourse to the food bank.
The strikers, without health insurance since the end of September, have received $250 per week from the union since the fourth week of the strike.
Union leaders had recommended ratification of the first offer, arguing there was no guarantee of getting more with a walkout, but they abstained on the second vote.
This time, union president Jon Holden is very clear: “You can confidently declare victory, vote in favor of this agreement and benefit generations to come,” he wrote on the union website.
According to him, the salary increase will actually reach 43.65% at the end of the contract since the reference remuneration will increase from year to year.
The end of the strike is crucial for Boeing, in great financial difficulties because the social movement paralyzes the two factories producing the 737 – its flagship plane -, the 777, the 767 and several military programs.
The aeronautics giant, which has just published its worst quarterly loss in four years, plans to reduce its global workforce by 10% in the coming months, and this week launched a giant capital increase of at least $21 billion. .
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