Boeing announces new contract offer

SEATTLE — The Boeing company has set a Friday deadline for a response to what a press release called its “best and final” offer for a new contract. 

Information on the new offer was released Monday. The strike by members of IAM 751 and W24, the unions representing machinists, has stopped work at Boeing facilities nationwide, including its facility in Moses Lake. 

Pickets have been outside the gates of the Boeing facility since the strike started Sept. 13. Union members voted to reject an earlier contract offer.  

Representatives for IAM 751 and Boeing did not return requests for comment by the Columbia Basin Herald press time. 

The proposal released Monday includes a pay raise of 30% implemented over four years. Workers would receive a 12% raise in the first year of the contract, and 6% each of the remaining three years.  

The draft contract rejected by union members included a 25% wage increase. Union members initially asked for a 45% wage increase.  

The revised offer also reinstates an annual bonus program that was eliminated in the previous contract offer, according to a Boeing press release.  

The company also offered a 1% reduction in the medical cost share plan. The proposal places a 10% cap on increases to the employee contribution to medical insurance. It also proposes additional medical benefits. 

If the proposal was approved, the company would increase its contribution to employee 401(k) plans, and continue the existing automatic company contribution, but wouldn’t increase it.  

The company would add a floating holiday and reduce designated overtime. Boeing also announced a commitment to build the company’s next new airplane in the Puget Sound area and Portland, according to information on the Boeing website. 

This is the first time the union and the company have negotiated a full contract since 2008, the press release said. Union members approved contract extensions in 2011 and 2014.