Boeing machinists are holding a contract vote that could end their 7-week strike

(AP) – Unionized Boeing factory workers are voting Monday on whether to accept a contract offer or continue their strike that has lasted more than seven weeks and halted production of most Boeing passenger jets.

A vote to ratify the contract would clear the way for the aerospace giant to resume plane production and bring in much-needed cash. If members of the International Association of Machinists and Aeronautical Workers vote for a third time to reject Boeing’s offer, it would throw the company into further financial jeopardy and uncertainty.

In the latest proposed contract, Boeing is offering pay increases of 38 percent over four years, as well as ratification and productivity bonuses. IAM District 751, which represents Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest, approved the proposal, which is slightly more generous than the one the machinists voted on nearly two weeks ago.

“It’s time for our members to lock in these gains and confidently declare victory,” the union district said in scheduling Monday’s vote. “We believe that asking members to stay on strike for longer would not be fair because we have achieved so much success.”

Union officials said they believed they had gotten as much as they could from negotiations and a strike, and that if the current proposal is rejected, future offers from Boeing could be worse. They expect to announce the result of the vote on Monday night.

Boeing has flatly rejected requests to restore traditional pensions that the company froze nearly a decade ago. Pensions were a key issue for workers who rejected previous offers in September and October.

If the machinists ratify the latest offer, they would return to work by Nov. 12, according to the union.

The strike began Sept. 13 with an overwhelming 94.6 percent rejection of Boeing’s offer to raise wages by 25 percent over four years — far short of the union’s initial demand for a 40 percent wage increase over three years.

The machinists voted down another offer — 35 percent raises over four years but still no pension revival — on Oct. 23, the same day Boeing reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion. Still, the offer received 36 percent support, up from 5 percent for the mid-September proposal, leading Boeing leaders to believe they were close to a deal.

Boeing says the average annual wage for machinists is $75,608 and would rise to $119,309 over four years under the current offer.

In addition to slightly larger salary increases, the proposed contract includes a $12,000 contract ratification bonus, up from $7,000 in the previous offer, and higher company contributions to employee 401(k) retirement accounts.

Boeing also promises to build its next airliner in the Seattle area. Union officials fear the company could withdraw the commitment if workers reject the new offer.

The strike caught the attention of the Biden administration. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su has weighed in on the talks several times, including last week.

The labor standoff — the first strike by Boeing’s automakers since an eight-week walkout in 2008 — is the latest strike in a volatile year for the company.

Boeing has been the subject of several federal investigations after a door plug exploded on a 737 Max jet during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Federal regulators have imposed limits on Boeing’s plane production that they said will last until they feel confident in the company’s manufacturing safety.

The door plug incident has renewed concerns about the safety of the 737 Max. Two of the planes crashed less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. The CEO, whose effort to fix the company failed, announced in March that he would step down. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators who approved the 737 Max.

As the strike dragged on, new CEO Kelly Ortberg announced about 17,000 layoffs and a stock sale to prevent the company’s credit rating from being downgraded to junk status. S&P and Fitch Ratings said last week that the $24.3 billion in stocks and other securities will cover future debt payments and reduce the risk of a credit downgrade.

The strike created a cash crunch, depriving Boeing of the money it receives when it delivers new planes to airlines. The shutdown at Seattle-area factories halted production of the 737 Max, Boeing’s best-selling plane, and the 777, or “triple-seven,” and the freighter version of its 767 plane.

Ortberg acknowledged that confidence in Boeing has declined, the company has too much debt and “serious deficiencies in our performance” have disappointed many airline customers. But, he says, the company’s strengths include a backlog of aircraft orders valued at half a trillion dollars.