Question 1

Why did Boeing workers say they supported a strike?

Accepted Answer

Boeing machinists, who build the company’s flagship planes, have not had a new contract in 16 years and have been bargaining for months over higher pay, better benefits and a promise from the company that it will keep assembling its planes in Washington state. The union that represents more than 33,000 workers, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 (IAM), was pushing for 40 percent pay increases during the latest round of contract negotiations, a number they say could help address years of stagnant wages. In a preliminary vote in July, union members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if negotiations failed. “Over the decades, our members have not chosen to strike over wages,” IAM’s negotiating team wrote in a bargaining update in early September. “We have taken less during lean years, downturns in the market, or sacrificed for other important provisions. This contract is different.”

Question 2

What did the proposed deal include?

Accepted Answer

IAM leadership reached a tentative agreement with Boeing on Sunday, securing a new contract and averting a strike if it had been approved. The deal included a 25 percent wage increase over four years, a reduction in how much employees pay for health care and an increase in retirement plan contributions. It also included a commitment from Boeing to build its next aircraft in Washington state. Union leadership recommended that members approve the deal. But days later, Jon Holden, president of IAM District 751, told the Seattle Times that he expected members to vote down the deal and strike.

Question 3

How did union members vote?

Accepted Answer

Some 96 percent of members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 voted in favor of the strike — far more than the two-thirds needed to launch the work stoppage.

Question 4

When did the strike start?

Accepted Answer

The strike started just after midnight Friday morning, after members approved it. Workers will strike at the many plants around the greater Seattle region, including Renton and Everett, where many of Boeing’s planes are built.

Question 5

What will happen now that Boeing machinists are on strike?

Accepted Answer

A strike could bring airplane production to a standstill and threaten Boeing’s delivery schedule and bottom line. After a two-month strike in 2008, Wall Street analysts estimated it cost the company more than $2 billion in profit.

Question 6

What challenges is Boeing facing?

Accepted Answer

A potential strike and work stoppage comes at a particularly fraught time for Boeing, which is facing multiple federal investigations after a midflight blowout on an Alaska Air flight in January. Boeing is already facing production woes. The Federal Aviation Administration has capped the number of Boeing’s bestseller jetliner, the 737 Max, that the company can produce until it proves it has met safety and manufacturing milestones. The slowdown and reputation hit have already affected the company’s top line — revenue fell 14 percent last quarter.

Question 7

How will a strike affect me?

Accepted Answer

Most consumers probably won’t feel an immediate impact from a strike, said George Ferguson, senior aerospace and airline analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Airplane deliveries happen on a much slower schedule than, say, personal automobiles, which stood to be affected in a large union strike last year. “You’d have to have a pretty extended strike for U.S. consumers to feel the pain,” he said. But communities around big Boeing plants — such as in Renton and Everett — or near Boeing suppliers could feel the impact sooner. If workers are putting off making big-ticket purchases, or frequenting restaurants, the local economies could eventually feel a bit of strain.

Why Boeing workers voted to strike after rejecting proposed deal

Boeing machinists rejected a deal and voted to strike Thursday.