Boeing Workers Vote to Strike for First Time in 16 Years

More than 30,000 Boeing workers are officially on strike after workers in Seattle and Oregon voted overwhelmingly against a tentative agreement between Boeing at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) union.

The strike, the first major Boeing strike in 16 years, comes just five weeks into the tenure of CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took over for former CEO Dave Calhoun. Ortberg told workers just before the vote this week that the strike would jeopardize the company’s ongoing recovery.

Boeing had called that tentative, four-year agreement the “best contract we’ve ever presented.” It included 25% wage increases and better healthcare and retirement benefits. Workers, who have not had a new contract since essentially 2008, are asking for about 40%.

Workers also want other reassurances, which Boeing says it has already provided. The company, for example, committed to build its next new plane in Washington state, as opposed to at its facilities in South Carolina, which are non-union facilities.

According to estimates, a protracted strike could cost Boeing up to $3.5 billion in cash, bad news for a company already suffering because of aircraft safety issues.