Boeing deal rejected, no strike

USA: A contract and strike vote by IAM Boeing workers on September 12 and 13 resulted in an overwhelming rejection of Boeing's final contract offer but did not give the required two-thirds majority to authorise strike action against the aerospace company. Thus, under provisions of the IAM bylaws, the company's proposed contract took effect by default on Saturday, September 14. The effective date of this three-year contract, to cover 25,000 IAM members at Boeing locations in Kansas, Oregon and the state of Washington, is retroactive to September 2. Bargaining between union negotiators and Boeing had concluded on August 27 without reaching an agreement, followed by three days of mediated talks during which Boeing management refused to budge on any key union issues such as job protection, the improvement of retirement security and maintaining high-quality health care. The IAM's lead negotiator for the bargaining, Dick Schneider, charged the company with using "scare tactics, threats and the very real economic hardships of these times to force this job-killing contract on the union membership." The contract includes modest hikes in wages and retirement pay, pension benefit increases of 20 per cent over the three-year period, higher health-care costs, and allows for hiring subcontractors for some specialised work now carried out by union members. In the past year, Boeing has laid off some 30,000 employees.