Union members could strike starting 7 October if no deal emerges.
Boeing and the union representing its Pacific Northwest engineers and other professional staff intend to resume contract talks on 31 August, as the union presses to secure greater wage gains.
The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) on 28 August disclosed the planned meeting, saying negotiators from both parties will “discuss next steps”.
Boeing confirms the scheduled discussions, saying, “We want to reach an agreement before the current contract expires and look forward to finding a solution with SPEEA at the bargaining table”.
SPEEA represents some 17,000 of the aerospace giant’s employees.
Negotiations stalled last week after union members voted against a proposed contract from the company that would have provided 28.5% wage gains. Members did so, setting up a showdown with the company, despite the union’s negotiating teams having advised them to approve the deal.
SPEEA now says it returns to negotiations with a mandate, noting a survey “showed the number one priority that union members want to see in their next contract is immediate and large guaranteed wage increases”.
The union did not give more specifics and did not immediately provide more information.
It represents about 13,000 Boeing engineers and scientists under a “professional” group, and roughly 4,000 Boeing technicians, analysts and planners in a “technical” group. Both groups are now working under contracts that expire after 6 October. They could strike starting 7 October, Boeing has said.
Boeing had said its prior proposed contract would have made SPEEA members “among the market leaders when it comes to pay and benefits”. SPEEA’s leaders, in endorsing the deal, said it would provide “real and meaningful value”. The union had also credited Boeing’s negotiators as responding to union concerns “in respectful and collaborative ways” that suggested the company desired to “rebuild trust”.
But Boeing’s terms were not good enough for union members. SPEEA’s professional group rejected the proposal by a 64% margin, while the technical unit voted 72% against, says the union, which tallied the votes on 21 August.
In addition to wage gains, union members seek increased annual performance payments and greater annual cost-of-living pay bumps, says SPEEA, citing a survey completed by some 12,800 members.
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