EVERETT, Wash. — The Boeing machinists union rejected the company’s latest contract offer on Wednesday by 64%, the union president announced on Wednesday night.
“We have not achieved enough to meet our members demands,” said Jon Holden, International Association of Machinists District 751 president. “We remain on strike.”
The union strike has crippled Boeing’s manufacturing lines and was thought to be coming to an end as machinists voted on the company’s latest contract offer to get over 33,000 of their employees back to work.
Union members voted Wednesday.
Boeing machinists went on strike at midnight on Sept. 13 after time ran out on their current contract and an overwhelming majority of union members voted to reject the new one.
The negotiating process has been drawn out and contentious, with both sides ultimately filing unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Among the many sticking points between Boeing and union negotiators was a demand for reinstatement of a pension plan that the company scrapped in 2014. The company has consistently said it will not bring pensions back but did offer higher contributions to company retirement plans.
Union members have also asked for a 40% raise over the contract term – this latest offer comes the closest at 35%. Boeing says the average annual machinist pay with the previous contract was $75,608, and the average pay at the end of this four-year contract, that was not approved, would be $116,272.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said one of his goals for the organization is to “reset” management’s relationship with labor. The strike has halted production on several jet models, including the 737 Max – the company’s most profitable.
Boeing posted $6 billion in losses in Q3, which was higher than anticipated.
The company stands to risk not meeting its production goals of 38 Max jets a month by the end of 2024, according to an estimate by S&P Global. Boeing could be losing $1 billion for every month that the strike goes on. The global financial analysis firm put the company on credit watch and could downgrade Boeing to a junk bond rating before the end of the year.