Overview

• Over 3,200 IAM District 837 machinists walked off at three St. Louis-area defense plants after rejecting a revised four-year contract that offered roughly 40% average pay growth, a 20% base wage increase and a $5,000 ratification bonus.
• This marks the first strike at Boeing’s St. Louis defense factories since 1996, when McDonnell Douglas machinists held a 99-day walkout before the companies merged.
• Boeing has activated a contingency plan using non-union personnel to sustain operations and confirmed that no further talks with the union are scheduled.
• The stoppage threatens production of F-15 and F/A-18 fighters, the T-7A Red Hawk trainer, the MQ-25 Stingray refueling drone and the next-generation F-47 stealth fighter.
• The action follows a 53-day commercial aircraft walkout last fall and underscores growing union leverage while Boeing grapples with recent safety incidents and financial losses.