What happened
Boeing's largest union approved the company's latest contract offer Monday night, ending a punishing seven-week strike. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said 59% of the more than 26,000 of its voting members approved Boeing's fourth offer, which includes a 38% raise over four years plus a $12,000 signing bonus and other benefits.
Who said what
The new contract will raise machinists' average annual pay to $119,309, from $75,608, including benefits but not overtime, Boeing said. The company originally offered a 25% raise. Union members had also held out for a return of the pensions they gave up under pressure in 2014, but Boeing wouldn't budge.
"You stood strong, you stood tall and you won," local IAM president John Holden said in Seattle. "This is a victory." Union leadership had urged members to approve this latest offer, saying they had wrung out all the concessions the struggling company was likely to offer. The strike cost Boeing and its suppliers billions of dollars.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
IAM leaders said workers will return to Pacific Northwest assembly plants as soon as Wednesday and no later than Nov. 12, though it was expected to take weeks for production to hit pre-strike levels. Boeing is "under pressure from jet-starved airlines to ramp up deliveries," The Wall Street Journal said, and under scrutiny from federal regulators to prove it has fixed quality control issues.
-
What’s the best way to use your year-end bonus?the explainer Pay down debt, add it to an emergency fund or put it toward retirement
-
What are portable mortgages and how do they work?the explainer Homeowners can transfer their old rates to a new property in the UK and Canada. The Trump administration is considering making it possible in the US.
-
10 concert tours to see this winterThe Week Recommends Keep cozy this winter with a series of concerts from big-name artists
-
US mints final penny after 232-year runSpeed Read Production of the one-cent coin has ended
-
How could worsening consumer sentiment affect the economy?Today’s Big Question Sentiment dropped this month to a near-record low
-
Musk wins $1 trillion Tesla pay packageSpeed Read The package would expand his stake in the company to 25%
-
Starbucks workers are planning their ‘biggest strike’ everThe Explainer The union said 92% of its members voted to strike
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
Trump proposes ending quarterly earnings reportsSpeed Read The SEC would have to approve any changes
