Boeing workers vote overwhelmingly to strike, halting aircraft production | Labour Rights

Ninety-six percent of union members vote to walk off the job at factories in Seattle and Portland.

Boeing’s roughly 33,000 factory workers on the West Coast of the United States have voted overwhelmingly to strike in the latest blow for the beleaguered aircraft giant.

Machinists at the company’s factories in Seattle and Portland, Oregon on Thursday voted to walk off the job from midnight after rejecting an offer of a 25 percent pay rise over four years.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said that 94.6 percent of its members voted to reject the pay deal and 96 percent back a strike.

The strike, the first by Boeing workers since 2008, puts a halt to production of the best-selling 737 MAX and other aircraft as the company grapples with output delays, heavy financial losses and intense scrutiny of its safety record.

“This is about respect, this is about the past, and this is about fighting for our future,” said Jon Holden, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751.