Boeing defense staff reject contract offer

Bloomberg

Nearly 2,500 members of a union that represents three Boeing Co defense locations in the St Louis area voted to reject the company’s contract offer and plan to strike starting on August 1.
“We cannot accept a contract that is not fair and equitable, as this company continues to make billions of dollars each year off the backs of our
hardworking members,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 said in a statement on its website. The union said the company “previously took away a pension from our members” and isn’t compensating their 401(k) plans adequately.
The strike will affect workers in St Louis and St Charles in Missouri and Mascoutah, Illinois, who build military aircraft including the F-15, F-18, T-7A trainer and the MQ-25 unmanned refueller.
The failed negotiations may portend an equally tough time for Boeing in the next round of contract talks for IAM’s much larger contingent at the company’s Seattle commercial-aircraft operations, which has about 30,000 Machinists
members in a separate bargaining unit.
“Boeing is disappointed with the vote to reject a strong, highly competitive offer,” a company spokesman said via email. “We are activating our contingency plan to support continuity of operations in the event of a strike.”