Boeing woes will not erode workers' readiness to strike, union says

By Allison Lampert

SEATTLE (Reuters) -Boeing's financial and production challenges following a January mid-air panel blowout will not change its workers' readiness to strike to make gains in bargaining, a union local president said on Thursday.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which represents more than 30,000 Washington state workers building Boeing jets, wants better retirement benefits and wage increases exceeding 40% over three to four years after what it termed years of stagnant earnings.

"We are going to maximize this opportunity no matter what," Jon Holden, president of the IAM's District 751 representing the Seattle-area workers, said in an interview with Reuters.

"Our members want an agreement, they want a good agreement but they are willing to strike if they have to."

IAM workers are scheduled to vote for a strike authorization mandate on July 17, but they cannot strike before the contract expires on Sept. 12.

Boeing did not respond to a request for comment on the union's potential strike plans.

The planemaker is trying to manage a sprawling crisis that erupted after a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX jet on Jan. 5.

Boeing's chief financial officer said last month the company would burn rather than generate cash in 2024 and deliveries would not increase in the second quarter.

Workers held a noisy rally on Tuesday at Boeing's Renton plant outside Seattle, coinciding with a media visit to showcase quality improvements at the factory.

Holden said the IAM's talks with Boeing have not resolved any significant points yet and the planemaker has pushed back on union demands for higher wages and to gain a seat on the company's board of directors.

"They're not open to it at this point," he said of the board seat. "But it's important for us to continue to push because it is about ensuring that those at the highest level of this company understand that they are missing the voice of workers."

U.S. investigators on Thursday sanctioned the planemaker for revealing details of a probe into the panel blowout incident at the media event, prompting Boeing to apologize.

Holden said he was not aware of changes at the Renton factory described by Boeing to reporters and had not yet seen the planemaker's 90-day plan to improve quality that has been submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration.

He said he expected to get a copy of the plan and had held earlier discussions with Boeing as it was being developed.

"I don't see a difference," Holden said of factory changes. "I haven't seen the 90-day plan yet. We're still trying to get a copy of it."

Boeing said in a statement that it had hosted Holden in its factory multiple times to walk him through its safety and quality plan and to listen to his concerns and feedback.

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Seattle; Editing by Sandra Maler and Jamie Freed)