After a 7-week strike, the union members at Boeing secured a $12,000-ratification bonus, essentially paying for their time off.
Union Avoidance firms all over the U.S. have been using this strike as a talking point to scare workers. The anti-union firm representing Airbus for example, used the strike to scare employees for nearly 6 weeks, even after the IAM won a record-breaking contract at their Canadian facility just a few months prior, after the membership voted to strike.
Highlights of the latest tentative agreement approved Monday night by the union members include:
· 38% general wage increase over four years – 13%, 9%, 9%, 7% which compounds to 43.65% over the life of the agreement
· $12,000 Ratification Bonus: The ratification bonus combines the previous $7,000 ratification bonus and the $5,000 lump sum into the 401(k). Now, union members can choose how this total amount is received – in their paycheck, contribution to 401(k), or a combination of both.
· AMPP incentive plan is reinstated, with a guaranteed minimum annual payout of 4%, including 2024 payout in February 2025
· 401(k) employer match of 100% up to 8%
· Special company retirement contribution of 4% into 401(k) maintained
· $105 pension multiplier per year for those vested in the pension plan
· Call-in language back to current contract
· New long-term disability plan and big improvement to short term disability plan
· Health care cost containment
· Improved overtime rules
· Key job security provisions
· Increased Minimum Rates that now increase with COLA increases.
Further details of the negotiated resolution can be found at iam751.org/2024StrikeProposal.
Jon Holden, President of IAM District 751 and Brandon Bryant, President of IAM District W24, issued the following joint statement following the votes being tallied:
“Working people know what it’s like when a company overreaches and takes away more than is fair. Through this strike and the resulting victory, frontline workers at Boeing have done their part to begin rebalancing the scales in favor of the middle class – and in doing so, we hope to inspire other workers in our industry and beyond to continue standing up for justice at work. Through this victory and the strike that made it possible, IAM members have taken a stand for respect and fair wages in the workplace. Our members perform high quality and flight critical work for the airplanes we build and deserve a return on their labor investment that provides for the quality-of-life worthy of that labor.
“This contract also creates a new foundation to build on for the future and that future begins today. We are ready to help Boeing change direction and return to building the highest quality and safest airplanes in the world. Our members are critical to that mission, and now have a stronger voice in the decision making process to ensure those needed improvements are made. ‘There is no Boeing without the IAM’ has been our battle cry, and we are ready, again, to do our part to bring this company back to the standard that it never should have strayed from.”
“Livable wages and benefits that can support a family are essential – not optional – and this strike underscored that reality. This contract will have a positive and generational impact on the lives of workers at Boeing and their families. We hope these gains inspire other workers to organize and join a union. Frontline Boeing workers have used their voices, their collective power, and their solidarity to do what is right, to stand up for what is fair – and to win.”
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