Negotiations between US aircraft manufacturer Boeing and the International Union of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) will resume on Tuesday under federal mediation, the union’s local chapter announced late on Saturday. “The union will meet on Tuesday with federal mediators commissioned by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) and Boeing to begin discussions,” said IAM-District 751, which represents more than 33,000 Boeing union members in the Seattle area (northwest).
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As soon as the strike was announced, the group indicated that it was eager to return to the negotiating table to reach an agreement.
The last strike lasted almost two months in 2008.
Tens of thousands of workers represented by District 751 – out of the group’s 170,000 employees – rejected on Thursday the draft collective agreement announced on September 8 by 94.6% and approved a strike by 96%. The last strike, in 2008, lasted 57 days. The FMCS announced on Friday evening that the parties would “resume their meetings early next week”, without specifying a date.
“We are stronger than ever and we will not give up,” the organization warned. The strike, which began when the previous collective agreement expired at midnight on Thursday, paralyzes two important Boeing plants: the Renton and Everett assembly plants, which produce the best-selling 737 MAX, the 777 and the 767 (a cargo version and a military tanker aircraft), whose deliveries are already suffering from delays.
Source: BFM TV
