WireNovember 5, 2024

Associated Press
Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson
Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson
A Boeing employee driving a "union express" van carries carafes as workers vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A Boeing employee driving a "union express" van carries carafes as workers vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson
A truck displays a small strike sign in the parking lot of the Aerospace Machinists Union hall as Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A truck displays a small strike sign in the parking lot of the Aerospace Machinists Union hall as Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson
A Boeing employee walks by a picket sign urging people to vote no on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A Boeing employee walks by a picket sign urging people to vote no on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson
An Everett police officer stands inside the Angel of the Winds Arena as Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
An Everett police officer stands inside the Angel of the Winds Arena as Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson
Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson
Boeing employees leave after voting on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, outside the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Boeing employees leave after voting on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, outside the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson
Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson
A Boeing employee, wearing a union shirt, arrives to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A Boeing employee, wearing a union shirt, arrives to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson
Boeing employees gather around a burn barrel as others arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Boeing employees gather around a burn barrel as others arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson
EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - A Boeing employee holds up flyers encouraging others to vote no on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - A Boeing employee holds up flyers encouraging others to vote no on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson
Boeing employee Adrian Camez, who works in Seattle, stokes the fire of a burn barrel as others arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Boeing employee Adrian Camez, who works in Seattle, stokes the fire of a burn barrel as others arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)AP Lindsey Wasson

SEATTLE — Unionized machinists at Boeing voted Monday to accept a contract offer and end their strike after more than seven weeks, clearing the way for the aerospace giant to resume production of its bestselling airliner and generate much-needed cash.

Leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district in Seattle said 59% of members who cast ballots agreed to approve the company’s fourth formal offer and the third put to a vote. The deal includes pay raises of 38% over four years, and ratification and productivity bonuses.

However, Boeing refused to meet strikers’ demand to restore a company pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.

The contract’s ratification on the eve of Election Day clears the way for a major U.S. manufacturer and government contractor to restart Pacific Northwest assembly lines that the factory workers’ walkout have idled for 53 days.

According to the union, the 33,000 workers it represents can return to work as soon as Wednesday or as late as Nov. 12. Boeing’s CEO has said it might take “a couple of weeks” to resume production in part because some could need retraining.

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Leaders of IAM District 751 endorsed the latest proposal, saying they thought they had gotten all they could though negotiations and the strike.

“It is time for our members to lock in these gains and confidently declare victory,” the union district said before Monday’s vote. “We believe asking members to stay on strike longer wouldn’t be right as we have achieved so much success.”

The average annual pay of Boeing machinists is currently $75,608 and eventually will rise to $119,309 under the new contract, according to the company.

A continuing strike would have plunged Boeing into further financial peril and uncertainty.

CEO Kelly Ortberg, an outsider who started at Boeing only in August, has announced plans to lay off about 10% of the workforce, about 17,000 people, due to the strike and a series of other factors that diminished the company’s reputation and fortunes this year.

___

Koenig reported from Dallas. Associated Press writer Hannah Schoenbaum contributed from Salt Lake City.

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