Boeing, union hold ‘productive’ talks in attempt to end strike

By Julie Johnsson and Danny Lee / Bloomberg

Boeing and union leaders representing 33,000 striking workers held fruitful talks Tuesday, with the help of the Biden administration’s top labor official, as they try to end a seven-week labor dispute that’s crippling Boeing’s U.S. manufacturing.

Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers had a “productive face-to-face meeting” — with assistance from acting Labor Secretary Julie Su — to “address key bargaining issues,” the union said on its website.

The “negotiating committee will continue to engage with the company to secure the best possible outcome for our members,” it added.

Boeing confirmed that it has resumed negotiations, and met earlier Tuesday with the union.

The latest attempt to break the stalemate comes after 64% of members of IAM District 751 voted to reject Boeing’s third contract offer, which would’ve hiked wages by 35% over four years. Pressure is mounting for the planemaker to find a compromise as workers dig in, intent on reinstating pensions and making up for a decade of minimal pay increases.

The IAM’s strike is the first major labor strife at Boeing in 16 years. Hourly workers are pushing for large pay increases and better retirement benefits, driven by resentment over receiving paltry wage increases in the past decade while senior executives were richly rewarded.

The strike is taking a toll on Boeing. Instead of generating cash in the fourth quarter, the company now expects to burn through around $4 billion, which would bring total outflows for the year to $14 billion.

The planemaker expects to continue burning cash in 2025 — with its financial performance improving as its factories gradually recover from the work stoppage during the year — executives said during an Oct. 23 earnings call.

The strike is also starting to hurt suppliers, with potential long-term ramifications for Boeing. Once it starts up assembly lines for its cash cow 737 Max, its 767 and 777 aircraft after the dispute ends, the planemaker will need to carefully monitor its supply chain’s ability to keep pace. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. has already warned it will lay off roughly 700 workers building components for the 767 and 777 programs.

Arlington, Virginia-based Boeing is also moving forward with plans to cut 10% of its workforce, the first step toward a broader realignment of its businesses under new Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg. The company has begun rebuilding its financial war chest, raising $21 billion in recent days in an expanded share sale, one of the largest ever by a public company, to address its liquidity needs and to stave off a potential credit rating downgrade to junk.