Boeing workers vote on wage deal that could end strike
Contract offers 38% pay raise over four years
Union leader endorses deal after two previous no votes
Voting closes at 7 p.m. PT (0300 GMT)
Strike has halted jet production, hammered Boeing finances
Adds comment from union, context, in paragraphs 4-6
By Dan Catchpole and Allison Lampert
SEATTLE, Nov 4 (Reuters) -Boeing BA.N U.S. West Coast factory workers are voting on an improved contract offer on Monday that could end a seven-week strike and restart jet production at the troubled planemaker.
Boeing's latest offer includes a 38% wage increase spread over four years, up from a 35% raise in a proposal that was rejected by around two-thirds of the 33,000 striking machinists in a vote 12 days ago.
Boeing's fourth offer since a strike started on Sept. 13 comes at a critical moment for the company, which last week announced a $24-billion share issue to shore up its finances after the strike halted production of its cash-cow 737 MAX jet.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said on Sunday that workers can return to their shifts as early as Wednesday if the offer passes, or as late as Nov. 12.
It is not clear how long it will take Boeing to get back to pre-strike production levels, although the strike is widely expected to delay to 2025 a year-end rate target of 38 jets per month.
While Boeing is not regularly disclosing monthly MAX production figures, CFO Brian West has previously said monthly output went from high single digits at the end of the first quarter to roughly 25 in June and July.
The 38% wage increase could add about $1.1 billion over the four-year contract to the workers' cost base of about $2.5 billion, according to a note from analyst Jefferies.
The union's District 751 President Jon Holden, who is negotiating on behalf of the workers, has endorsed the latest contract and warned workers that if they reject the deal Boeing's next offer will be worse.
Boeing's shares rose 0.4% around midday to $155.27, after rising on Friday on bets that workers would take the deal.
Voting ends at 7 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time (0300 GMT), with the result expected within hours.
Factory workers Reuters spoke to are divided on the latest contract, with some saying they are ready to return to work while others are willing to hold out for more benefits and the 40% wage increase they originally demanded.
A positive vote would offer some respite for Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg who took over the company in August on a promise to mend relations with factory workers and bring about a "fundamental culture change" at the company.
Boeing has been lurching from crisis to crisis since January when the door panel blew off a near-new 737 MAX plane in midair, leading to the departure of Ortberg's predecessor, Dave Calhoun.
Ending the stoppage, which has also halted production of Boeing's 767 and 777 widebody planes, would also benefit aerospace suppliers that have been furloughing workers, as well as airlines facing aircraft-delivery delays.
Boeing's latest offer eclipses recent pay gains by both the United Auto Workers in 2023 and IAM-unionized Airbus A220 factory workers this year. Many Boeing workers say it does not make up for a decade during which their wages lagged inflation and the loss of a defined-salary pension.
The union has said its members earned just four 1% wage increases over the last eight years.
"You have to have a second hustle in order to make it," said machine operator Jeffrey Dodge, who has a side business growing mushrooms and selling tincture plant extracts.
Dodge, who is voting to reject the deal, said other workers near the Seattle-area Renton plant where he helps make 737 wings are also taking second jobs to cover basics.
Boeing has said the average annual machinists' pay at the end of the four-year contract would be $119,309, up from $75,608 in the previous contract.
That raise is enough for some workers who are beginning to feel the pinch.
"I will probably say 'yes'," said Ian Hill, 29, who says he only makes enough money to live in a shared flat in a rough neighborhood where he sometimes hears gunshots at night.
"We should approve it, and in four years, try to get better."
Reporting By Dan Catchpole in Seattle and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Sandra Maler and Rod Nickel
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ताजातरीन समाचार
अस्वीकरण: XM Group के सत्व केवल निष्पादन वाली सेवा और हमारी ऑनलाइन व्यापार सुविधा में पहुँच प्रदान करते हैं, ताकि व्यक्ति वेबसाइट पर या उसके जरिए उपलब्ध सामग्री को देख सके और/या उसका उपयोग कर सके। इसका प्रयोजन इसे बदलना या विस्तार देना नहीं है, न ही वह इसे बदलता या विस्तार देता है। इस तरह की पहुँच हमेशा ही निम्नलिखित के अधीन रहेगी: (1) नियम और शर्तें; (2) जोखिम चेतावनियाँ; और (3) पूर्ण अस्वीकरण। इसलिए ऐसी जानकारी सामान्य सूचना से अधिक कुछ भी नहीं है। विशेष रूप से, कृपया इससे अवगत रहें कि हमारी ऑनलाइन व्यापार सुविधा की सामग्रियाँ न तो किसी चीज का अनुरोध करती हैं, न ही वित्तीय बाजारों में प्रवेश करने की पेशकश ही करती हैं। किसी भी वित्तीय बाजार में व्यापार करने के साथ आपकी पूँजी को उल्लेखनीय जोखिम है।
हमारी ऑनलाइन व्यापार सुविधा में प्रकाशित सभी सामग्रियाँ शैक्षणिक/सूचनात्मक प्रयोजनों मात्र के लिए हैं, और इनमें वित्तीय, निवेश टैक्स या व्यापार सलाह और सुझाव नहीं हैं - न ही ऐसा समझना चाहिए कि इनमें ये सब हैं; न ही इनमें हमारी व्यापार कीमतों का अभिलेख है; न ही इनमें किसी वित्तीय उपकरण में लेन-देन करने का निमंत्रण या अनुरोध है; न ही ये आपको अवांछित वित्तयी प्रोमोशन पेश करती हैं।
इस वेबसाइट में मौजूद कोई भी तृतीय पक्षीय सामग्री, तथा XM द्वारा तैयार की गई सामग्रियाँ, जैसे: अभिप्राय, समाचार, अनुसंधान, विश्लेषण, कीमतें और अन्य सूचनाएँ या तृतीय पक्षों की साइटों के लिंक, "जैसा-है-वैसा" के आधार पर बाजार के बारे में सामान्य टिप्पणी के रूप में उपलब्ध कराई गई हैं, और वे निवेश हेतु सलाह नहीं हैं। जिस हद तक कीसी सामग्री को निवेश अनुसंधान मान लिया जाता है, उस हद तक आपको ध्यान में रखना होगा और इसे स्वीकार करना होगा कि वह सामग्री इस उद्देश्य से और निवेश अनुसंधान की स्वतंत्रता को बढ़ावा देने के लिए कानूनी आवश्यकताओं के मुताबिक, तैयार नहीं की गई है, और इसलिए उसे प्रासंगिक कानूनों और विनियमों के तहत विपणन संप्रेषण माना जाएगा। कृपया सुनिश्चित करें कि आपने गैर-आश्रित निवेश के बारे में हमारी सूचना को पढ़ और समझ लिया है। पीछे दी गई जानकारी के बारे में अनुसंधान और जोखिम चेतावनी यहाँ उपलब्ध है।
