By The Telegraph (World News) | Created at 2024-11-05 07:20:12 | Updated at 2024-11-05 09:33:33
2 hours ago
Boeing workers have voted to bring an end to seven weeks of crippling strikes after accepting a 38pc pay rise.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union said 59pc of voting members in its Seattle district had agreed to approve the company’s fourth formal offer.
The vote to accept the deal on the eve of the US election clears the runway for the aerospace giant to resume production of its flagship 737 MAX plane at its Pacific Northwest factories after strikes left assembly lines idle for 53 days.
Workers voted to accept a pay rise of 38pc over four years, along with bonus schemes, although Boeing refused to meet strikers’ demand to restore a company pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.
It means the average annual pay of Boeing factory workers will rise from $75,608 to $119,309 under the new contract, according to the company.
Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg said in a message to employees that he was pleased to have reached an agreement.
He said: “While the past few months have been difficult for all of us, we are all part of the same team.
“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 that it might take “a couple of weeks” to resume production in part because some could need retraining.
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