The defense workers’ union at Boeing, the U.S. aircraft manufacturer that has been on strike for nearly three months, recently rejected the company’s proposed wage negotiations, the union announced on the 26th.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local 837, the union representing Boeing’s defense workers, announced in a statement that day that members voted to reject the company’s proposed wage increases. This marks the fourth time the union has rejected a company-proposed wage increase.
The latest wage increase proposal from Boeing, which includes a 24% base pay increase over the next five years, is largely unchanged from the negotiated offer made last month.
Boeing has repeatedly indicated that the company will not make meaningful improvements to the wage increase plan during the strike.
“Boeing has claimed to listen to its employees, but today’s vote proves they are not listening,” said IAM union president Brian Bryant in a statement.
The 3,200 union members at a Boeing defense plant near St. Louis, Missouri, have been on strike for nearly three months since August 4, demanding higher wages and severance pay. This is the first strike at Boeing’s St. Louis plant in 29 years, since 1996.
Boeing’s defense division produces aircraft such as the F-15 and F/A-18 fighter jets, the T-7A trainer jet, and the MQ-25 drone tanker, as well as missiles. Boeing’s defense, space, and security divisions account for more than a third of the company’s total revenue.
Boeing was already facing a management crisis due to the series of accidents involving the 737 Max, and last year, a seven-week strike by unionized commercial aircraft workers in the Seattle area further exacerbated the company’s financial difficulties, disrupting aircraft production and deliveries.