The Boeing Company and the workers who assemble its planes are bracing for a strike as the machinists' union told members to reject the company's latest contract offer yesterday.þþA strike would halt production of Boeing's commercial airplanes just as business is booming, jeopardizing profits and giving ground to its rival Airbus.þþÿCompany not listening - Strike is looming,ÿ the union's Web site declared yesterday. ÿThe only way to have an opportunity for a better offer is to authorize a strike and be willing to withhold your labor to get more,ÿ the union said in its latest message to members.þþThe 18,500 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers covered by the Boeing contract are set to vote on the latest offer today, hours before the current contract expires.þþShould a majority reject the proposal and two-thirds vote to authorize a strike, machinists will walk out of Boeing operations early tomorrow, a union spokeswoman said.þþBoeing said its final offer was fair, but it was prepared for the worst.þþThe machinists' last strike, a 10-week walkout in 1995, depressed Boeing's earnings as the company delivered fewer planes. þþStrong demand for Boeing's jets gives the union an unusually strong hand in the talks this time around, industry watchers say.þþBoeing's final offer, made late Tuesday to machinists in Portland, Ore., and Seattle, comes after almost three months of negotiations.þþThe offer includes a 5.5 percent wage increase and pension payments of $66 a month for each year of a retired employee's service, plus as much as $15,400 in lump sum payments and bonuses. Boeing proposes a separate package for its employees in Wichita, Kan.þþThe union wants Wichita employees to get the same deal as other workers and wants better job security for all. It is pushing for $80 a month in pension payments for each year of service and objects to the company's new health care plan, which it says pushes costs onto workers.þþ
Source: NY Times
