Commercial aircraft manufacturing units of the Boeing in Kansas, Oregon and Washington are shut down for the past 52 days due to which the company has lost revenue of at least $1.5 billion. This strike, which commenced on 6th September, is one of the longest in the history of Boeing since the year 1995. Factory sites in the three states have been surrounded by pickets and make shift camp sites have emerged in the company’s plant in Everett, located to the north of Seattle.
The aerospace company is forced to relent and has initiated a dialogue with the workers towards a tentative agreement. A satisfactory breakthrough deal was offered to the disgruntled workers after discussions and talks with the Federal mediators for the last five days in Washington. The deal provides for an increase of 15% in the worker’s pay over four years and reassurance on the job security issues.
Around 27,000 workers are expected to go back to work by this weekend if the union members through a ballot system approve the deal. According to the president of the Boeing commercial aircraft, Scott Carson, this proposal provides workers with an excellent compensation for their contributions towards the success of the company and also preserves the company’s competing ability.
According to IAM, the machinist union, a lot of workers have worked hard and sacrificed a lot to see this deal come through. Mark Blondin one of the negotiators praised the workers of Boeing for their determination and dignity with which they conducted themselves through the ordeal.
