Boeing’s unionised engineers and technical workers have rejected the company’s four-year contract offer and authorised their negotiators to call a strike when the current agreement expires on 6 October. The vote covers about 17,000 SPEEA members at Boeing facilities in the Seattle area and nearby states, heightening the risk of labour disruption for the planemaker’s commercial aircraft operations.
Engineers voted 64% against the tentative deal, while technical workers rejected it by about 72%. The union said the proposed wage gains did not keep pace with cost-of-living pressures. Boeing’s vice president for production engineering, Ben Nimmergut, described the outcome as disappointing and moved to activate a strike contingency plan.
No new talks were scheduled. SPEEA, Boeing’s largest white-collar union, is in its first full contract negotiation with the company in 14 years, adding further pressure at a time when Boeing is working through production and safety challenges.