Boeing Rejects Further Talks With Machinists

Federal mediators Thursday asked Boeing Co. and its largest union to extend their contract by 30 days and resume negotiations, but the big airplane maker refused, setting the stage for a possible strike beginning Monday.

“There is nothing left to negotiate,” the company said.

Late Thursday, representatives of the International Assn. of Machinists said members will continue to work after the contract expires, perhaps averting a walkout despite Boeing’s refusal to reopen talks.

Workers would report to their jobs after the Sunday midnight expiration of their contract, in response to the federal mediators’ request to resume negotiations.

Negotiators from Boeing and the machinists union had been asked Thursday morning to report to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service headquarters in Washington on Wednesday.

The union was in the process of voting on whether to accept Boeing’s “best and final” offer, made Tuesday, or strike.

A letter from mediation service director Peter Hurtgen said the agency was stepping in because “any job action threatens to cause a substantial disruption of commerce.”

The union quickly agreed to take part in the talks, said Richard Barnes, the mediation service’s deputy director.

But Boeing refused. “The teams spent months negotiating in good faith,” the company said. “The Boeing negotiating team has done everything possible and within reason to craft an offer that is fair, competitive and respectful.”

In anticipation of resuming negotiations, the union had said it would seal the ballots without counting them Thursday night.

Boeing shares fell 36 cents to $37.17 on the New York Stock Exchange.