Seattle – Boeing Factory workers gathered in Seattle on Tuesday to demand a better pay deal, increasing pressure on new CEO Kelly Ortberg to end a bitter strike that has plunged the plane maker into a new financial crisis.
Hundreds of striking workers filled the main hall of the union headquarters shouting “Pension! Pension! Pension!” and “Another day, a stronger day!”
Workers outside the factory told Reuters that 17,000 recent job cuts will not stop them from continuing to fight for higher wages and better pensions announced by the company.
Top Democrats in Washington state's Congress have increased pressure on Boeing, calling on both sides to reach a mutually beneficial agreement “to pay workers the wages and benefits they recognize as essential and irreplaceable work for the company.”
The letter was released to union and business leaders by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell at X, Senator Patty Murray, and Representatives Adam Smith and Rick Larsen.
Boeing's nearly 33,000 unionized West Coast workers, most from Washington state, have been on strike since Sept. 13, demanding a 40% pay raise over four years and halting production of the aircraft maker's best-selling 737 MAX. aircraft and its 767 and 777 widebodies.
“We want Boeing management to know that we are strong and united and that their fear tactics are not working,” said Matthew Wright, a 52-year-old electrician who works on 767 jets. “We are not afraid of them.”
The show of force comes as Boeing is pushed to give itself financial breathing room on Wall Street. It announced on Tuesday a window for up to $25 billion in equity and debt offerings over the next three years, as well as a $10 billion credit deal. Boeing shares closed up 2.3% on Tuesday.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and Boeing leadership are engaged in a crippling blame game over the strike, with both sides filing grievances against each other. Unfair labor practices Time for discussion.
Boeing last week withdrew its latest offer, which included a 30% pay increase over four years, after negotiations broke down even with federal mediators.
Acting US Secretary of Labor Julie Sue Boeing and IAM were called upon to break the impasse in Seattle on Monday, her first in-person intervention.
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jaipal, whose district includes downtown Seattle, addressed the crowd Tuesday, criticizing Boeing and urging Ortberg to end the strike.
“He has the opportunity to turn things around and actually give you the contract that you deserve, so that we can get back to making quality airplanes, so that you can get back to doing your job, to continue to be the most sophisticated company and quality in the world. United States, Boeing Company It was before,” he said.
“Let’s make Seattle Boeing City again!”
'No pension, no livestock'
IAM members held short pickets in front of Boeing facilities during the strike. In Seattle — where Boeing is among the top employers, along with Microsoft and Amazon — striking workers on Tuesday carried signs reading “No Pension, No Wrenching” and “Kelly Ortberg, Pay It Forward.”
IAM local leader John Holden, who leads wage negotiations for the union, urged Ortberg to attend the negotiations in person.
“As the pressure mounts, the losses mount, it’s time to do the hard work to bring yourself to the table,” Holden said in his closing speech at the rally Tuesday afternoon.
In mid-November, Boeing will send 60 days notice Employees are being laid off. A second phase is planned for December if necessary, industry sources said.
Boeing will refrain from asking for voluntary departures to limit severance money and avoid an outflow of skills, the sources said.
A Boeing spokesperson Monday said the planned job cuts included union and non-union workers, but striking IAM employees are not currently affected. Some workers at Boeing's loss-making defense unit are also expected to be among the cuts.
Investors and regulators put Boeing under the microscope Door panels taken from a nearly new 737 MAX jet In the air in January.
Since then, the plane maker's shares have fallen more than 40%.
