Boeing increases its offer to end the strike

new York
CNN
—

Boeing said on Monday that it had increased its offer to the International Association of Machinists to end the strike by 33,000 union members, which is now entering its eleventh day.

The new offer would give members a 30 percent pay increase over the four-year term of the contract, including an immediate 12 percent raise. The total increase of 25 percent is higher than the immediate 11 percent raise that members voted against almost unanimously on Sept. 12, shortly before they walked off the job at Boeing's West Coast plants.

“We have heard your feedback,” Boeing said in a statement to union members on its website. “We have made significant improvements to provide more funding in key areas.”

The new offer also doubled the signing bonus to $6,000 and increased the amount Boeing contributes to union members' 401(k) plans to match the amount they contribute themselves. But it did not restore the traditional pension fund that union members lost in an earlier collective agreement a decade ago.

The strike, which has brought commercial aircraft production to a near halt, is the first at the struggling aircraft maker in 16 years. Despite its many problems – including losing more than $33 billion over the past five years – Boeing is still a major force in U.S. manufacturing and vital to America's air transportation system. The company is the country's largest exporter and contributes $79 billion to the U.S. economy, by its own estimates, and supports 1.6 million jobs directly and indirectly at suppliers in all 50 states.

Shortly before the strike began, 95 percent of union members voted against the previous provisional collective agreement. The company said the new offer was contingent on the ratification of the agreement by September 27.

The union issued a statement late Monday saying it was reviewing the new offer. While it did not outright reject the offer, it also did not say it was willing to put it to members for ratification. The union said it showed that members were right to reject the previous offer and put forward better demands.

“This news validates every step that hard-working Boeing employees have taken so far in the strike,” said Brian Bryant, IAM international president. “Employees knew Boeing leaders could do better, and this shows that workers were right all along. The proposal will be analyzed to see if it helps workers make up for the sacrifices they have made so far.”

Brandon Felton, who has worked at Boeing's Everett, Washington, plant for seven years, told CNN he would vote again against the new offer, which he called “pretty ridiculous.”

Felton said the 40% wage increases originally demanded by the union were “not unreasonable” and the least he would accept. He also said he wanted the pension plan to return.

“Given the physical demands of this job, it would be nice to have a guaranteed pension,” he said.

Union members have expressed anger over concessions they have made since the last strike in 2008, such as the loss of pension plans that they agreed to only after Boeing threatened to move production of two new planes to non-union plants. The company had already moved production of the 787 Dreamliner to a non-union plant in South Carolina, and that plant has continued to operate during the strike.

While Boeing is not losing revenue as a result of the strike, it is losing a key source of cash because airlines are unable to assemble and deliver planes that have already been ordered. Boeing receives most of its pay only when a plane is delivered to an airline. The company has announced that many of its non-union employees will be furloughed without pay every fourth week for the duration of the strike and that it will limit its purchases from suppliers and dealers to save money. It also announced pay cuts for top executives.

This story has been updated with additional reporting and context.