Boeing Successfully Evades Strike: 17,000 Engineers Ratify 10% Pay Raise Agreement

Boeing has successfully dodged a potentially catastrophic strike. More than 17,000 engineers and technical workers voted on October 1 to ratify an enhanced four-year contract. This provides crucial relief for the beleaguered aerospace titan.

Members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) — Boeing’s largest white-collar union — ratified the deal. 67.6% of the professional unit (representing approximately 13,000 engineers and scientists) and 53.5% of the technical unit (representing approximately 4,000 analysts, designers, and technicians) voted in favor of the agreement.

The contract features an immediate 10% wage increase effective from today. This is followed by annual raises of 4% and an additional merit-based increase of up to 2% per annum. This amounts to a projected 34% total wage increase over the four-year period. The deal also improves health care, retirement benefits, adds vacation days, a floating holiday, and reduces mandatory overtime limits. SPEEA predicts that the average engineer’s salary will increase from $152,000 to $208,000 over the contract’s duration.

A strike could have been disastrous, jeopardizing certification efforts for the long-delayed 737 Max 10 and 777X aircraft, and interfering with production ramp-up plans. The current union contracts are due to expire on October 6.

Source: CNBC — Boeing engineers and technical workers approve new contract, avoiding strike