About 33,000 Boeing machinists were voting Monday on a new contract offer from the company — its third contract proposal since the workers went on strike in September.
Wall Street is hopeful, even if the outcome of the contract vote is hardly clear. Workers and the company agreed Thursday to put the new deal to a vote.
💰💸 Don’t miss the move: SIGN UP for TheStreet’s FREE Daily newsletter 💰💸
Boeing shares were up 1% in early-afternoon trading to $156.15. The shares are off 18% from an end-of-July peak of $190.60 and are down more than 40% in 2024.
Workers interviewed by local news outlets in the Pacific Northwest over the weekend suggested there was still a lot of opposition. The first contract was rejected on Sept. 13 by 94.6% of workers. Ten days later the second offer lost 64% to 36%.
Related: Warren Buffett cuts Apple stake massively and artfully
Boeing says average annual pay for machinists is $75,608 and would rise to $119,309 in four years under the current offer.
Pensions were a key issue for workers who rejected the company’s offers in September and October. In its new offer, Boeing did not meet their demand to restore a pension plan that had been frozen nearly a decade ago.
If the machinists ratify the contract now on the table, they would return to work by Nov. 12, according to the union.
Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are assembled at the Boeing Renton Factory in Renton, Wa., in June.
JENNIFER BUCHANAN/Getty Images
A ‘no’ vote could mean worse for workers
Boeing’s relationship with International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers members has been chilly at best since an eight-week strike was settled in 2008.
This contract offer comes with a threat that the next offers won’t be as good.
While Boeing did not specify what would be taken away from Thursday’s offer if it were to fail, union officials said Boeing might cut any number of gains, The Seattle Times reported.
These include canceling a commitment to build the next airplane in the Puget Sound region, backing away from a 38% wage increase, or losing a 1% reduction in health-care costs.
Related: Major homebuilder warns of new housing problem
Boeing came under several federal investigations after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Regulators put limits on Boeing airplane production, saying the limits would last until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company.
The door-plug incident renewed concern about the safety of the 737 Max. Two of the planes crashed less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
