Boeing Co.’s defense division is catching flak from its workers. The International Machinist and Aerospace Workers union announced Sunday, July 27, that 3,200 workers at three Boeing factories in Missouri and Illinois had collectively rejected the company’s latest contract offer.
Under existing terms of employment, the represented workers now enter a weeklong “cooling-off period” before a strike can begin, but Dan Gillan, a senior Boeing executive, said the company is “preparing for a strike” in a statement.
The looming labor action is the latest to threaten Boeing since late 2024, when the IAM called a strike of its Puget Sound-area commercial jet factories that wound up lasting nearly three months.
A statement from the IAM, which had endorsed the tentative agreement, said the new contract “fell short” of union members’ priorities without naming specifics. “The IAM Union remains committed to achieving a fair contract that meets the needs of our members,” the unsigned statement read, adding the group “looks forward to returning to the bargaining table with Boeing’s leadership.” Gillan, representing the company, said there are no talks currently scheduled with the union.
The tentative deal offered workers a 20% wage increase over the 4-year course of the contract — notably less than the 38% increase over 4 years won by the Puget Sound workers in 2024.
