Boeing final offer to strikers, union ‘not even hearing’
Boeing has made a “best and final” offer to thousands of striking workers, but its largest union has refused to put it to a vote, saying the planemaker refused to negotiate on a proposal that did not meet members’ demands.
The U.S. planemaker has offered to reinstate a performance bonus, increase pension benefits and double the ratification bonus to $6,000 if workers accept the offer by Friday, according to a letter the company sent to officials of the International Union of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
Boeing is under increasing pressure to end a strike that could cost it several billion dollars, damaging the company’s already strained finances and threatening to downgrade its credit rating.
However, IAM District 751, which is the lead contract negotiator with Boeing, said it would not hold a new vote on the offer.
IAM District 751 President John Holden said the union plans to survey members to get their views on Boeing’s latest proposal. “We are under no obligation to vote on their offer,” Holden said in an interview with Reuters.
According to him, Boeing’s proposal did not fully resolve priorities around retirement, salaries and other issues.
Boeing said in a statement that the latest offering brought significant improvements. “We first presented the offer to the union, and then shared the details with the employees,” the company announced.
More than 32,000 Boeing workers in Portland and the Seattle area walked off the job Sept. 13 in the union’s first strike since 2008. The workers, who were demanding a 40 percent pay raise as well as the return of performance bonuses, rejected a previous offer from the company.
The union represents workers who build Boeing’s best-selling 737 MAX and other planes.
Source: BIZLife
Photo: Beta/AP
Source: bizlife.rs
