SPEEA considers next step for tech workers' contract

Boeing Co. technical workers soon will be hearing from union representatives who are determining their next steps after members rejected the company's contract offer.

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace already has reached out to federal mediators to request the scheduling of a new round of contract talks, the union said Wednesday.

Tuesday evening, SPEEA technical workers rejected Boeing's latest contract offer by a margin of 3,203 to 2,868. The technical workers also gave the OK for SPEEA negotiators to call a strike if necessary.

The 15,500 Boeing engineers also represented by SPEEA voted Tuesday to accept their contract by a margin of 6,483 to 5,514. SPEEA negotiates for both groups at the same time though engineers and technical workers have separate contracts.

Boeing said late Tuesday that it was "deeply disappointed" SPEEA's technical workers rejected the contract.

SPEEA said Wednesday it plans to conduct a telephone survey of technical workers to understand members' priorities as union officials gear up to resume talks with the company.