Boeing’s engineers and technical workers represented by SPEEA have rejected the company’s four-year contract offer and authorised their negotiators to call a strike when the current deal expires on 6 October 2026. The vote covers about 17,000 employees across Boeing’s commercial airplane division in the Pacific Northwest and other US sites, raising the risk of disruption to work on the 737 MAX 10 and 777-9 programmes.
The union vote was held on 21 August, with the offer rejected by about 64% in the professional unit and about 72% in the technical unit. Strike authorisation passed by roughly 88% to 90%, while the earliest legal strike date would be 7 October if no new agreement is reached.
Boeing has activated a strike contingency plan, including posting contractor roles and shifting funds previously earmarked for workforce investment towards strike preparation. No new bargaining date had been set after the vote, and SPEEA maintained that a deal could still be reached before the contract expires.