Negotiations between the American aircraft manufacturer Boeing and the International Union of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) will resume on Tuesday, within the framework of federal mediation, the local branch of the union organization indicated late on Saturday.
“The union will meet Tuesday with federal mediators mandated by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) and Boeing to begin discussions,” IAM-District 751, which represents more than 33,000 Boeing union members in the Seattle area (northwest), said on its website.
Contacted by AFP, Boeing did not immediately respond. As soon as the strike was announced, the group had indicated that it was eager to return to the negotiating table to reach an agreement.
The tens of thousands of workers represented by District 751 – out of some 170,000 employees of the group – rejected on Thursday the draft collective agreement announced on September 8 by 94.6% and approved a walkout by 96%. The last strike, in 2008, lasted 57 days.
The FMCS had announced on Friday evening that the parties would “resume their meetings at the beginning of next week”, without specifying a date.
“This is our time to stand up – to show Boeing that our voices are not just powerful, but cannot be silenced,” IAM-District 751 continued Saturday, urging those mobilized on the picket lines “to generate an echo across the country and beyond.”
“We are stronger than ever and we will not give up,” the organization warned.
The walkout, which began when the previous collective agreement expired at midnight on Thursday, has paralyzed two major Boeing sites: the Renton and Everett assembly plants, which produce the best-selling 737 MAX, the 777 and the 767 (cargo and military tanker versions), whose deliveries are already running into delays.
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