Boeing strike may have already caused more than $1.6B in economic losses

MOSES LAKE — Tuesday marked the 20th day on strike for 33,000 Boeing workers, and there has yet to be an agreement between Boeing and the union, IAM 751, on the employees’ contract. 

“The potential economic impact of this strike cannot be overstated,” The National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons wrote in a statement Wednesday. “The aerospace industry directly supports more than 500,000 manufacturing workers in America, and the ongoing strike at Boeing’s Puget Sound facilities is poised to have significant economic consequences, not just in the Pacific Northwest but across the entire United States.” 

Union members have consistently said they are seeking competitive pay and benefits in their field and that Boeing has not kept up with industry trends in those areas in recent years. The strike affects the Moses Lake Boeing facility and union members have been picketing there since the strike began.

According to the NAM statement, the strike could total a regional economic loss of more than $1.65 billion after just 20 days. 

“This disruption will resonate far beyond Washington state,” Timmons wrote. “The aerospace supply chain and manufacturers in the U.S. are interconnected deeply, and a continued halt in production will have devastating effects on our country.”