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Boeing ( BA ) workers to decide on strike mandate

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Union seeks 40% raise in first full negotiation with

Boeing ( BA ) in

16 years

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Boeing ( BA ) faces financial and production challenges,

including

competition from Airbus

By Allison Lampert

July 17 (Reuters) - Boeing's ( BA ) Washington state

factory workers will vote on Wednesday on whether to give their

union a strike mandate as they seek a 40% raise in their first

full negotiation with the planemaker in 16 years.

Many of the estimated 30,000 workers who build Boeing's ( BA ) 737

MAX and other jets will rally in support of a mandate at

Seattle's T-Mobile Park, although they cannot strike before

their contract expires on Sept. 12.

While the vote is considered procedural, the union is

kicking off the 12 p.m. PDT event with fanfare, including an

earlier convoy of workers on 800 motorcycles.

"It does empower the negotiating committee, it does send a

strong message," union local president Jon Holden said about the

vote during a June interview.

For example, the vote would free up funds in case members

choose to strike later, he added.

North American unions have capitalized on tight labor

markets to win hefty contracts at the bargaining table, with

airline pilots, autoworkers and others scoring big raises.

But Boeing ( BA ) has lost ground to rival Airbus as it

navigates a crisis that erupted after a door plug blew off an

Alaska Airlines 737 MAX jet in mid-air on Jan. 5.

The planemaker recently said it would plead guilty to criminal

fraud conspiracy to resolve a U.S. Justice Department

investigation linked to two 737 MAX crashes from 2018 and 2019

that killed a combined 346 people, the government said in a

court filing earlier this month.

The U.S. planemaker, which has announced a deal to acquire key

supplier Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR ) for $4.7 billion, is

expected to burn rather than generate cash in 2024.

"We remain confident we can reach a deal that balances the

needs of our employees and the business realities we face as a

company," Boeing ( BA ) said in a statement.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace

Workers (IAM), which represents the Boeing ( BA ) workers, has said the

company's financial and production challenges will not change

its workers' readiness to strike if needed.

"Knowing our relationship here with the Boeing Co ( BA ) and how

things have been, our members are ready to strike," Holden told

Reuters.

He said workers have already been holding sporadic rallies

in the factories and there would be more demonstrations expected

in late August.

Boeing ( BA ) has more than 66,000 employees who live and work in

Washington state on programs like the MAX, 767 and 777 widebody

jets, representing the largest percentage of the company's

global workforce.