Boeing and its engineers” union reached a tentative agreement on a new contract on Friday, according to union officials.
العنوان (Headline)
Boeing and Engineers' Union Reach Tentative Agreement on New Contract
The four-year offer includes larger general wage increases than the initial proposal, which was overwhelmingly rejected by members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) in an August 21 vote.
If the agreement is approved, about 17,000 members across the union's professional and technical units will receive a 10% wage increase on October 16, followed by 4% increases, along with performance-based raises, between 2027 and 2030.
Ben Nimmergut, Vice President and Chief Functional Engineer for Production Engineering at Boeing, said in a statement: "Our final contract offer addresses the key priorities identified by our employees and the SPEEA negotiating teams, including an immediate wage increase and expanded merit pools with guarantees."
According to the union, the latest offer also includes modifications to work-from-home policies and overtime limits for members of the professional unit.
Securing Larger General Wage Increases
Following the rejection of Boeing's first offer, an internal survey of SPEEA members showed that their top priority was securing larger general wage increases.
The union's negotiating committee said in a statement: "We heard you loud and clear through your responses and feedback at town hall meetings, and we took your words with us to the negotiating table. Those words shaped every conversation we had with Boeing executives."
The committee added that the tentative agreement "is not everything we asked for, but it represents a real step forward toward improving our wages and working conditions, and rebuilding the relationship between Boeing leadership and our union members."
The current contract expires on October 6. If an agreement is not finalized by that date, SPEEA members could go on strike.
Certification for the 737 MAX 10 and 777-9
Union members are critical to Boeing's efforts to obtain certification for the 737 MAX 10 and 777-9 aircraft, both of which are years behind schedule.
The previous offer included 3% general wage increases, which several SPEEA members argued would likely cause their wages to fall behind inflation.
The Consumer Price Index, a key inflation gauge, rose by 4.5% over the past year in the Seattle area, where the majority of SPEEA members work, according to data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in July.
On Wall Street, major indices rose on Friday, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq each climbing just under 1%.
SPEEA has not negotiated a new contract for its Pacific Northwest members with the company since 2012, as members had previously approved contract extensions in 2016 and 2020.