*

Strike mandate vote passes with 99% in favor

*

Union seeks 40% raise in first full negotiation with

Boeing ( BA ) in

16 years

*

Strike cannot be called before contract expires on Sept.

12

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Boeing ( BA ) faces financial and production challenges,

including

competition from Airbus

(Recasts with voting results, adds comments by union local

president, paragraphs 1, 4-6 and 9)

By Allison Lampert and David Ryder

SEATTLE, July 17 (Reuters) -

Boeing's ( BA ) Washington state factory workers voted by

more than 99% in favor of a strike mandate, their union said on

Wednesday evening, as they seek a 40% raise in their first full

negotiation with the planemaker in 16 years.

Earlier in the day, many of the estimated 30,000 workers

who build Boeing's ( BA ) 737 MAX and other jets crowded to vote at

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

their contract expires on Sept. 12.

Boeing's ( BA ) labor talks come as the U.S. planemaker loses

ground to rival Airbus and 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 also faces other

issues.

Union local president Jon Holden of the International

Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said bad

decisions made at the executive level of Boeing ( BA ) are putting

workers' livelihoods at risk.

"Our jobs, our legacy and our reputation are on the line

right now," Holden said in a statement.

Asked for comment on the vote result, Boeing ( BA ) referred to a

statement it made earlier this week, which said: "We remain

confident we can reach a deal that balances the needs of our

employees and the business realities we face as a company."

While the vote is considered procedural, the union held the

event with music, speeches, a motorcycle convoy and signs with

such slogans as "no pay no planes."

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

strong message," Holden said in an earlier interview with

Reuters.

The vote in favor of a strike mandate frees up funds in case

members decide to strike later.

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.

The 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.

Aerospace mechanic Heath Hopkins said many of the workers,

who are concerned about pensions and other issues, have been

yelling and banging on materials inside their factories to raise

awareness.

"It gets noisy in my shop every hour," Hopkins said on the

sidelines of the Wednesday event. "You have to put ear plugs

in."

"It's basically everyone in the shop showing that we are

together as a union, as a group. We are ready to strike if we

need to."

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.

Boeing ( BA ) 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.