Boeing union workers set to vote on contract offer, could end strike

ST. LOUIS - Thousands of Boeing union workers are set to vote on a new contract offer from the company Friday morning after striking for more than five weeks.

Union officials announced Wednesday that they had reached a tentative deal with Boeing on this new contract offer, potentially bringing an end to the strike. The strike began on Aug. 4 when IAM 837 union members overwhelmingly rejected Boeing's previous offer.

Union workers have expressed feeling disrespected by Boeing and have been demanding better pay and overall benefits. Boeing claims this is the best deal they have ever offered to IAM 837.

The new contract proposal extends the agreement to five years, offering a total raise of 24 percent compared to the previous four-year offer with a 20 percent raise.

The new contract includes a $4,000 signing bonus, which is $1,000 less than the $5,000 signing bonus in the previous offer. Boeing states that the average wage growth during the life of the contract will increase from $75,000 a year to $109,000.

There are 3,200 IAM 837 members, and the union vote will take place Friday morning between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. at the St. Louis Music Park in Maryland Heights. The vote on the new contract offer will determine whether the strike will continue or come to an end.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published.