Boeing Strikers OK Contract, Return to Work
Striking Boeing engineers and technical workers approved a new contract Sunday, ending one of the biggest white-collar walkouts in the country’s history.
Members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace planned to return to work at this morning following their 40-day strike.
Nearly 10,000 of 13,440 eligible, dues-paying union members cast ballots. Both the technical and engineering sides approved the contract by more than 70%, union executive director Charles Bofferding said.
“The technical community has found its voice. . . . This has been a clear victory,” Bofferding said at an evening news conference.
“Boeing is delighted that SPEEA members ratified the tentative settlement, and we are looking forward to their return to work,” Boeing Chief Executive Phil Condit said in a statement.
Earlier Sunday, union members waiting in long voting lines near the foot of the Space Needle were split on whether the latest offer, which included guaranteed wage increases of at least 9% over three years and bonuses of up to $2,500, was adequate.
“It doesn’t meet everything we want, but it’s a start,” said Jim Timko, an engineer at Boeing’s Everett plant about 30 miles to the north, who was voting yes.
During the walkout, which began Feb. 9 and involved about 17,000 workers, Boeing deliveries slipped by more than 15 airplanes, and work on some government contracts suffered.
The engineers surprised many, first by going on strike, then by staying out as long as they did. Workers at Boeing’s Long Beach facility did not walk out.
Boeing customers such as American Airlines and United Airlines missed deliveries and had to adjust their maintenance and flight schedules.
The strike had come at an awkward time for Boeing. The company was only beginning to recover from two abysmal years in 1997 and 1998, when its commercial aircraft division suffered heavy losses because of snarled production lines and delayed deliveries.
Tentative agreement on the separate contracts for engineers and technicians was announced early Friday.
Under the three-year proposals, technicians would get a 4% raise in the first year and a 3% raise in each of the next two years. Engineers would receive a 3% raise every year of their contract.
The company dropped its demand that workers pay part of their health insurance premiums. Health coverage would be extended to domestic partners.
Due in part to the strike, Boeing’s stock fell from a high of $47.63 a share on Jan. 17 to $32.38, just shy of the 52-week low of $32, on March 10. On Friday, shares gained $2.38 to close at $38 on the New York Stock Exchange.
