SPEEA union leaders endorse Boeing contract proposals

The new agreements would replace current deals set to expire in October.

Leaders at a key Boeing labour union have endorsed two company-proposed, four-year employment contracts and are expressing optimism about the state of negotiations.

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), which represents some 17,000 Boeing workers on the US West Coast, said on 30 July it had received two “final” contract offers from the company.

The proposals cover the two Boeing work groups on the West Coast represented by SPEEA: a 13,000-strong “professional” unit and a 4,000-strong “technical” unit, both of which are working under contracts that expire on 6 October.

“The [professional and technical] teams both are endorsing the offer, saying it offers real and meaningful value to the membership,” SPEEA says.

The union’s professional division represents engineers and scientists, while its technical group represents technicians, analysts and planners.

“During negotiations, team members said they felt that Boeing executives had heard their concerns and responded to them in respectful and collaborative ways,” the union adds. “This attitude, they said, seems to represent true movement by Boeing and a desire to rebuild trust with its SPEEA-represented workforce.”

The negotiations come two years after bitter contract negotiations between Boeing and workers represented by the International Association of Machinists. Those workers went on strike for 53 days until reaching a deal with Boeing in November 2024.

“We’re pleased that SPEEA’s negotiations team has endorsed our final contract offer,” says Boeing functional chief engineer Ben Nimmergut. “The offer ensures our team would be among the market leaders when it comes to pay and benefits. It also addresses the priorities the union said were most important to our employees.”

Neither the company nor union have disclosed offer details.

Next week, SPEEA says, two of its bargaining councils (one for each work group) will review the offers before sending them with recommendations to union members for consideration ahead of a member vote. A vote date has not been set.

The bargaining councils can also call a vote on whether to strike, but no strike can occur prior to the existing contracts’ 6 October expiration, the union says.

SPEEA also represents Boeing workers at Kansas sites the company acquired with its December purchase of aerostructures manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems.