The Daily Populous Friday September 13rd, 2024 day edition
Authored by cnbc.com and submitted by kamorigis

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Boeing 's factory workers walked off the job after midnight on Friday, halting production of the company's best-selling airplanes after staff overwhelmingly rejected a new labor contract. It's a costly development for the manufacturer that has struggled to ramp up production and restore its reputation following safety crises. Workers in the Seattle area and in Oregon voted 94.6% against a tentative agreement that Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers unveiled Sunday. The workers voted 96% in favor of a strike, far more than the two-thirds vote required for a work stoppage. "We strike at midnight," said IAM District 751 President Jon Holden at a press conference where he announced the vote's results. He characterized it as an "unfair labor practice strike," alleging that factory workers had experienced "discriminatory conduct, coercive questioning, unlawful surveillance and we had unlawful promise of benefits." He said Boeing needs to bargain in good faith.

Boeing Co. workers and supporters hold signs outside the Aerospace Machinists Union District 751 Hall ahead of a vote on the union contract in Renton, Washington, US, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. M. Scott Brauer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Boeing didn't comment on his claims. "The message was clear that the tentative agreement we reached with IAM leadership was not acceptable to the members," the company said in a statement. "We remain committed to resetting our relationship with our employees and the union, and we are ready to get back to the table to reach a new agreement." Stephanie Pope, CEO of Boeing's commercial airplane unit, told machinists earlier this week the tentative deal was the "best contract we've ever presented." "In past negotiations, the thinking was we should hold something back so we can ratify the contract on a second vote," she said. "We talked about that strategy this time, but we deliberately chose a new path."

A worker walks outside the Boeing Co. manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, US, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. M. Scott Brauer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Soupdeloup on September 13rd, 2024 at 05:41 UTC »

Good, I hope they get a massive salary boost. Fuck all these companies that cut corners, increase their CEO/executive pay by millions and then fire hundreds or even thousands of employees.

Companies won't think twice before doing mass layoffs. Fight tooth and nail to get the benefits and compensation you deserve.

eric_ts on September 13rd, 2024 at 05:36 UTC »

Treating these people as unskilled labor and moving production facilities to anti-union states has understandably rubbed them the wrong way. Boeing corporate would be stupid to let this last for longer than a few days, but, as has been demonstrated multiple times in the last decade or two, Boeing management is stupid.

dnhs47 on September 13rd, 2024 at 05:14 UTC »

96% voted to strike - that’s epic.

They’ll never have a better opportunity to put the screws to Boeing. Boeing is already a dumpster fire, the last thing it can tolerate is a long strike.

Boeing has screwed its workers repeatedly over the last ~20 years, so the company richly deserves this. The company’s actions, and especially the arrogance of the executives, have made a strike inevitable, when the time was right; and that time is now.