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boeing worker at three o’clock middle West Workers at the plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed voted Sunday to reject the company’s latest contract offer and continue a strike that began nearly three months ago.
Strike of about 3,200 machine drivers in plants missouri In the cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and Mascoutah, IllinoisIt is smaller than the walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners, but threatens to complicate the aerospace company’s progress in regaining its financial footing.
“Boeing claimed they listened to their employees – the results of today’s vote prove they did not,” Brian Bryant, president of the International Association of Machinists union, said in a statement.
Union leaders say negotiations are stalled on issues such as wages and retirement benefits, while Boeing has argued that workers’ demands exceed the cost of living in the Midwest.
Ahead of Sunday’s vote, the union told its members it did not recommend approving the company’s latest proposal, saying it offered “no meaningful improvements” to retirement benefits and pay increases for workers with more seniority.
Negotiations escalated in the days before the summer strike, with workers rejecting an earlier proposed agreement that included a 20% pay increase over the life of the five-year contract.
Boeing immediately countered with an amended agreement, which did not promote the proposed wage increase, but removed a scheduling provision affecting workers’ ability to earn overtime pay. The workers rejected that offer too and went on strike the next morning.
The company said it was prepared for the strike with a contingency plan in place, “to ensure our non-striking workforce can continue to support our customers.”
Boeing’s defense, space and security business accounts for more than a third of the company’s revenue. Boeing is set to report its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday.