Boeing Co.’s fighter-jet machinists in St. Louis are preparing for a possible strike next week, even as the company’s C-17 assembly workers began returning to work Thursday in Long Beach, Calif., after a month-long walkout.
The International Association of Machinists District Lodge 837 is recommending that its 2,500 members in St. Louis reject Boeing’s latest proposal in the vote scheduled for Sunday, union spokesman Thom as Pinski said Thursday.
The workers, who build F-15s and F-18s, are upset over proposed changes to the pension plan and already voted to grant strike authorization if necessary. The 1,700 machinists who build C-17 military transport planes walked out May 11 over proposed cuts to pensions and medical benefits.
They approved a new deal Wednesday night, according to the United Aerospace Workers Local 148.
“They did what they had to do, and we may be doing the same thing,” Pinski said. “The shop floor is pretty riled up here right now.”
Boeing’s final offer in St. Louis would grant $5,000 bonuses this year and 3 percent annual raises during the rest of a 4 1/2- year contract and would increase employees’ share of medical costs. It would boost pension payments for current union members.
The proposal “addresses the current challenging defense- budget environment,” Steve Jacques, Boeing’s lead negotiator, said in a statement.
