Boeing factory workers walked off the job for the first time in 16 years, halting manufacturing across the planemaker’s Seattle hub after members of its largest union voted overwhelmingly to reject a contract offer and go on strike.
The strike action could pose additional threats to plane deliveries to airlines including Ryanair, which has already voiced concern about delays from Boeing.
Members of the International Association of Machinists And Aerospace Workers, which represents 33,000 Boeing employees across the US West Coast, stopped work at midnight on Friday.
Hundreds of workers manned picket lines at the Renton factory outside of Seattle that makes Boeing’s top-selling aircraft, the 737 Max.
Shares of Boeing slid 3.9% before the start of regular US trading on Friday. The stock has fallen 38% this year amid a crisis triggered by a midair 737 panel blowout in early January.
Machinists voted 94.6% to reject Boeing’s offer and 96% supported a strike. While both parties have expressed a desire to get back to the bargaining table, the move adds to the strain on Boeing.
The company was already reeling from the fallout over quality lapses after the near-catastrophe at the start of the year, which spurred investigations, a customer revolt, and an executive shake-up.
“This has been a long time coming, our members spoke loud and clear tonight,” Jon Holden, president of IAM District 751, said to a packed hall of union members and media.
“Clearly there were aspects of this agreement that weren’t good enough.” By the time he’d finished speaking, the chants of “strike, strike” were deafening.
Seattle, the historical home of Boeing, remains its largest manufacturing hub. In addition to 737s, the company makes 777 and 767 models at its Everett facility to the city’s north.
Mr Holden added that Boeing’s offer didn’t compensate for 16 years of stagnated wages, higher out-of-pocket healthcare costs and the relocation of thousands of union jobs. “There’s a lot at stake here for our members, so I am proud of them,” he said.
“And we’re going to get back to the table as quickly as we can.”
Boeing said in a statement that it remains “committed to resetting our relationship with our employees and the union, and we are ready to get back to the table to reach a new agreement.”
By striking, members ignored a plea for peace by new Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg, who has vowed to reset labour relations. And they bucked the recommendation of their own union leaders that they accept terms that included a 25% guaranteed wage increase over four years. While that’s the largest such pay hike ever offered by the planemaker, workers had expected a far greater increase.
They were also angered that the terms also eliminated an annual bonus.