Boeing has retracted its offer of a 30 percent salary increase to striking workers following over two weeks of tense negotiations. The troubled aircraft manufacturer had raised the offer to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) for take-home pay and retirement benefits. The proposed increase would have amounted to almost a third over four years for 33,000 US staff, according to Boeing.
In a statement, Boeing expressed disappointment that the union did not seriously consider the proposals, stating that the union presented demands that were beyond negotiation limits for the company to remain competitive. Consequently, Boeing has decided to withdraw the offer, as further negotiations were deemed unproductive at this stage.
Members of the IAM voted decisively to turn down Boeing’s revised offer, with the union asserting that Boeing was unwilling to meet their priorities during negotiations. This rejection comes after Boeing had publicized the offer to striking workers without prior discussion with union negotiators, a move that the union had criticized.
The initial proposal, which included 25 percent raises, had already been overwhelmingly rejected when the strike commenced on September 13. Boeing stated that the average annual pay for machinists would rise from $75,608 to $111,155 at the end of the four-year contract.
The strike adds to Boeing’s ongoing challenges as the company has ceased production of 737s, 777s, and 767s. Work on 787s is still ongoing with nonunion workers in South Carolina due to legal issues after a series of lawsuits in 2024. The troubles for Boeing escalated when a door panel malfunctioned on a 737 Max 9 mid-flight in January, leading to investigations that revealed missing bolts. Boeing later pleaded guilty to a criminal fraud charge related to the crashes of two 737 Max jetliners in 2018 and 2019, resulting in the loss of 346 lives.
Boeing’s stock has declined by nearly two percent before the opening bell on Wednesday, further contributing to a 41 percent decrease in value for the year. The repercussions of the strike and the company’s wider challenges continue to unfold as both Boeing and IAM navigate through this tense period of negotiations.