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3d ago

Boeing Defense Machinists Begin Strike, Halting Fighter Jet Production

Workers walked off after rejecting Boeing’s revised four-year deal promising about 40 percent average wage growth.

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Pro-union stickers are pictured on a pole outside the Boeing Renton Production Facility one day before striking union members will vote on a new contract offer in Renton, Washington on November 3, 2024.
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Overview

  • More than 3,200 IAM District 837 members launched a walkout at midnight Monday after rejecting Boeing’s revised four-year contract.
  • The strike has halted assembly of F-15 and F/A-18 fighters, T-7 trainers and MQ-25 aerial refueling drones at plants in St. Louis, St. Charles and Mascoutah.
  • Boeing Defense has activated its contingency plan, redeploying non-labor personnel to maintain production lines while formal talks remain on hold.
  • This is the first labor action at Boeing’s St. Louis defense hub since 1996, with machinists seeking improved scheduling protections and benefits alongside substantial wage growth.
  • CEO Kelly Ortberg has minimized the strike’s consequences, citing Boeing’s successful navigation of a larger machinist stoppage in late 2024.