Boeing, striking defence workers union to start talks on Aug 25

[LOS ANGELES] Boeing and union leaders representing striking workers at its St Louis-area defence factories will return to the bargaining table on Monday (Aug 25), as they aim to end a three-week-long impasse.

The session will mark the first formal negotiations since members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 went on strike on Aug 4, according to Boeing and union representatives. The labour strife at the defence unit comes months after the planemaker ended a dispute with Seattle-area workers that crippled its commercial jet manufacturing for two months.

“We look forward to further conversations with the union and finding a path forward to end the strike and bring our team back to work,” said Dan Gillian, a Boeing vice-president and senior St Louis site executive.

Boeing shares closed 2.5 per cent higher on Friday. The stock has gained 30 per cent this year, the second-best performer on the 30-member Dow Jones Industrial Average index.

About 3,200 hourly workers at Boeing plants in Missouri and Illinois walked off the job after rejecting a deal that would have raised wages by 20 per cent and boosted retirement contributions. The union last went on strike in 1996, with the stoppage lasting 99 days.

The talks come as union members approach a key juncture, the loss of their company-paid health care benefits at the end of August. The company has held informal discussions with labour leaders since the strike began, according to Boeing’s website.

Union members build fighter aircraft such as the F-15, the T-7 training jet, missiles and munitions as well as flight-control surfaces for the 777X jet. Boeing’s St Louis-area sites have remained open during the dispute with the company’s non-striking workforce supporting customers, the company said on its website. BLOOMBERG