Boeing strike still strong

The 33,000 striking workers at Boeing — members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) District Lodge 751 in the Seattle area and District Lodge W24 in Portland, Oregon —  arrived at a tentative agreement on Oct, 19. This agreement, reached on the 37th day of the strike, is an attempt by the bosses to partially meet some of the workers’ demands, while disrupting the momentum of their strike and bringing them back to work. Voting on a return-to-work agreement will take place on Oct. 23.

The agreement was made with the intervention of Secretary of Labor Julie Su, an agent of the Biden administration and the corporations. The strike stems from the workers’ anger at being without a new contract for 16 years due to Boeing’s attacks and concessionary bargaining by the Machinists union leadership. In an era of galloping inflation, IAM members have experienced a lot of erosion in their living standards.

The workers have been told by Boeing that the company will move their jobs elsewhere. Cutbacks, harassment, layoffs and outsourcing have been applied. But the Machinists understand that they’re essential, and Boeing can’t build planes without them.

The union is demanding a pay increase of 40%. The workers have come close to winning this with a pay hike of over 35% in the most recent contract offer. Boeing’s first and second offers of 25% and 30% were rejected by the strikers.

Workers are demanding a return to their defined benefit pension plan, which was stolen from them in 2014. The company has added new contributions to the IAM’s 401(k) plan in the latest offer but refuses to restore traditional, defined benefit pensions, which are better for the workers. For this reason, the IAM leadership is not recommending a “yes” vote. 

Many Machinists might hold out for pensions. At a recent rally of several thousand strikers, they chanted, “Pension, Pension!” After the rally, the workers marched from the Machinists Hall to Boeing’s Seattle plant.

In retaliation for the strike, Boeing has imposed extreme attacks on its workers. The company has canceled all of the strikers’ medical plans for the duration of the strike.

Boeing has a debt of $45 billion and in the first half of 2024 had a cash outflow of $8 billion. Before the strike began, the company started furloughing thousands of workers, i.e., making them work only three weeks out of four. Then on week five of the strike, Kelly Ortberg, the new company CEO, announced the layoff of 10% of Boeing’s workforce – 17,000 workers. These are mostly non-union workers or workers from outside of Seattle and Portland. The union Machinists would not be laid off. 

These attacks are anti-worker and contradict the company’s supposed need to increase production. This ploy is only an attempt to conserve cash. The IAM responded to this by condemning Boeing’s payment of $68 billion to Wall Street investors in dividends and stock buybacks in the last decade.

Boeing is desperate. Although some strikers are hurting after 40 days, they are still strong on the picket line. 

Go to workers.org for a strike update after the vote.