Tentative Deal Reached In Boeing Strike
About 33,000 union members will vote on deal Wednesday.
Boeing and the leaders of the machinists union have reached a tentative deal that could end a monthlong strike at production facilities. The company has offered a 35% wage increase, up from the 25% hike that was summarily rejected by the union to prompt the strike by more than 33,000 members. The members must ratify the deal, but the leaders stopped short of recommending that. Instead it said the latest offer "warrants presenting to the members and is worthy of your consideration." The vote will be held Wednesday. The last offer was recommended by the leadership and was rejected by 95% of members.
The already-troubled company was losing about $1 billion a month because of the strike and new CEO Kelly Ortberg was focused on trying to stop that bleeding with a new labor deal. The strike stopped almost all production work in Washington State, and the company announced 17,000 job cuts and the sell-off of $25 billion in stock or debt to make ends meet. It's predicting an annual loss of $6 billion this year.
