New York, United States – Boeing proposed lifting hourly wages for striking workers by 30 percent on Monday, sweetening its initial offer in an effort to end a 10-day stoppage that shuttered Seattle-area plants.
The aviation giant gave workers until Friday at midnight to ratify its “best and final offer,” the company announced.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 walked out on September 13, in a strike involving 33,000 workers in the Pacific Northwest.
The 30 percent general wage increase improves upon the 25 percent in the earlier offer, which was initially endorsed by IAM leaders before the rank-and-file workforce rejected it decisively.
The new proposal also reinstates an annual bonus that had been removed in the earlier version; line workers had complained that the loss of the bonus meant that the earlier proposal amounted to less than the 25 percent wage hike advertised by the company.
The new proposal also doubles a ratification bonus to $6,000 and lifts the company’s contribution to employees’ 401K program. But the amended offer does not reinstate the pension, a demand of some workers.
The amended deal maintains other provisions, such as a pledge to build Boeing’s next new airplane in the Pacific Northwest.
Boeing said the proposal would need to win ratification by 11:59 pm on Friday night, setting a tight timetable for IAM leadership to comment on the proposal and orchestrate a vote.
The IAM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
