New YorkþAbout 33,000 union members at Boeing have started to walk off the job on Friday after they overwhelmingly rejected a proposed four-year contract with the troubled aircraft manufacturer.þþThe strike, the first at the company in 16 years, will virtually stop commercial airplane production at one of America’s biggest manufacturing giants and its largest exporter, dealing a potential blow to the US economy. Depending on the length of the strike, it could cause problems for nearly 10,000 Boeing (BA) suppliers, which can be found in all 50 US states.þþThe company has a total of 150,000 US employees, and it estimates its own annual contribution to America’s economy at $79 billion, supporting 1.6 million jobs directly and indirectly.þþThe rejected deal, which leadership at the International Association of Machinist (IAM) union had described as the best it’s ever negotiated with Boeing, would have given raises of at least 25% over the life of the deal.þþIt also increased job security for union members because Boeing promised to build its next commercial jet, which has yet to be announced, at a unionized plant. Without a contract including that provision, Boeing may decide to build the jet at a non-union factory.þþBut 95% of members of the IAM union voted against the deal. In a separate vote, 96% voted to authorize a strike, easily clearing the two-thirds threshold needed to approve a walkout. The strike began at 11:59 pm PT Thursday, or 2:59 am ET Friday.þþ“This is about fighting for our future,” Jon Holden, president of the largest IAM local at Boeing, said as he announced the vote results. “We will be back at the table whenever we can get there to drive forward on the issues our members say are important.”þþBoeing said it was also eager to return to the negotiating table to reach a new deal.þþ“The message was clear that the tentative agreement we reached with IAM leadership was not acceptable to the members,” it said in a statement. “We remain committed to resetting our relationship with our employees and the union.”þþPast concessions and a series of problems at Boeing, including layoffs and the shift of some work from a unionized assembly plant to the company’s one non-union factory, had sparked widespread anger at the company. So the vote against the contract was expected, despite what was included in the offer.
Source: cnn.com
