EVERETT, Wash. — Forty days and counting. That's how long Boeing machinists have been out of work. A new contract offer on the table could end the weeks-long strike if members choose to approve it.
The new offer from Boeing includes a 35% general wage increase over four years, the annual bonus program known at AMPP reinstated, a $7,000 ratification bonus and a one-time company contribution of $5,000 to machinists' 401ks.
"I'm hoping that we'll have a no vote," Dennis Kronewitter, a machinist on strike, said. “I think there’s a lot of momentum to continue to strike because they’re not meeting our needs and not listening to us.”
Boeing says the average annual machinist pay with the previous contract was $75,608, and the average pay at the end of this four-year contract, if it's approved, would be $116,272.
"The general wage increase doesn't bring us up to the present," Stuart Whiting, another machinist, said. Whiting also said one of the most important benefits missing from this offer is the restoration of a defined pension.
"That's about $600 a month that I'm not getting because the pension ended on me," Whiting said. In 2014, Boeing and the machinists union approved a contract that removed the pension. Many machinists say this offer is closer to their original demands but believe Boeing can do more.
"Several of our members are on food stamps, they've been paying CEOs millions of dollars. Our employees shouldn't be on food stamps," Kronewitter said. He also pointed out that even with the increases, most machinists still won't be able to afford to buy a starter home.
"We're employing people to become renters and so they don't have home ownership, so they're not connected to the community and they're struggling in order to get by," he said.
According to the Building Industry Association of Washington, the income needed to purchase a median home in King County is $210,500; for Snohomish County, it's $175,000, and for Pierce County, it's $130,000.
“The general wage increase doesn’t bring us up to the present," Whiting said.
Union members will be able to vote from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at multiple locations. The union says anyone who is already in line by 5:00 p.m. will still be able to vote. The results will be announced at the Seattle Union Hall Wednesday evening.