Blitz Bureau
SEATTLE: Unionised machinists at Boeing voted on November 4 night to accept a contract offer and end their strike after more than seven weeks, clearing the way for the aerospace giant to resume production, reported Associated Press. Leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district in Seattle said 59 per cent of members who cast ballots agreed to approve the company’s fourth formal offer and the third put to a vote.
The deal, according to the AP report, includes pay raises of 38 per cent over four years, and ratification and productivity bonuses. However, Boeing refused to meet strikers’ demand to restore a company pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago. The contract’s ratification on the eve of election day cleared the way for a major US manufacturer and Government contractor to restart Pacific Northwest assembly lines that the factory worker walkouts have idled for 53 days.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a message to employees that he was pleased to have reached an agreement. “While the past few months have been difficult for all of us, we are all part of the same team,” Ortberg said. “We will only move forward by listening and working together. There is much work ahead to return to the excellence that made Boeing an iconic company,” he added. According to the union, the 33,000 workers it represents can return to work latest by November 12. Ortberg has said it might take “a couple of weeks” to resume production in part because some could need retraining
