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Boeing has put a 30 per cent pay increase on the table in an attempt to end a debilitating strike, sparking anger from union leaders who accused the aircraft maker of circumventing normal bargaining by taking the offer directly to workers.
The company said it was making a “best and final” offer, which also includes better retirement benefits than a deal that 33,000 union members rejected earlier this month.
The manufacturer has said the offer is only good if union members vote in favour by Friday.
But the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 forcefully dismissed the offer, saying Boeing had no authority to require a vote and that four days was too little time to prepare for one.
“This offer was not negotiated,” the union said. “It was thrown at us without any discussion . . . The company has refused to meet for further discussion; therefore, we will not be voting on [Friday].”
Boeing said it had bargained in good faith with union and that its offer made “significant improvements” over its earlier one. The company said it “first presented the offer to the union and then transparently shared the details with our employees”.
Boeing is struggling to improve its finances and operations after five punishing years, including two fatal crashes, a global pandemic that curtailed demand and, most recently, an incident in which a door panel blew off one of its aircraft mid-flight.
The company has used billions of dollars in cash this year as it has slowed production to try to improve its manufacturing and quality processes.
Boeing is now attempting to conserve cash and protect its investment-grade credit rating from being cut to junk. It is furloughing tens of thousands of employees, stopping purchase orders with suppliers and freezing new hiring.
The 33,000 workers walked off the job 11 days ago after rejecting a contract negotiated by the union’s leadership.
The earlier deal offered a 25 per cent increase and eliminated annual bonuses. The new deal increases the pay rise to 30 per cent, restores the bonus, improves retirement benefits and doubles the offer’s ratification bonus to $6,000.
The pay rise still falls short of the union’s original 40 per cent demand.
The machinists’ pay has risen 4 per cent over the past eight years. Many rank-and-file members remain angry over terms negotiated in 2014 when workers voted 51 per cent to 49 per cent to give up their traditional pensions, while the company said it would move work to Boeing’s non-union factory in South Carolina.
