Boeing's largest white-collar union rejected the planemaker's four-year contract offer and authorized a strike for when the current deal expires in October. The vote raises the risk of further delays to Boeing's aircraft certification work.
Members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace voted down Boeing's contract offer on Friday, union officials said. The union's 17,000 members also overwhelmingly authorized a strike once the current contract runs out in October. Nearly 90% of members backed strike authorization.
Certification work at risk
SPEEA is Boeing's largest white-collar union. A work stoppage by its members would further delay Boeing's certification campaigns for the 737 Max 10 and 777-9, both of which are several years behind schedule.
Neither of SPEEA's bargaining unit councils backed the offer, even though the union's negotiating team had endorsed its terms. Engineers and technicians negotiate together with Boeing but vote separately. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Inflation cap drove the rejection
A union spokesperson said the negotiating team now plans to survey members on what it would take to approve a four-year deal. Several union members said the company offered better terms than expected.
Boeing's offer tied wage increases to inflation, but capped that portion at 3%, alongside individual performance and other unspecified metrics. Several SPEEA members said the cap would nearly guarantee their salaries fall behind inflation, since the Consumer Price Index rose 4.5% over the past year for the Seattle area, where most of the union's members work.
In 2024, roughly 33,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers went on strike for seven weeks, halting Boeing's commercial airplane production in the Seattle area.
Sources: CNBC, Crypto Briefing
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