SEATTLE, July 30 (Reuters) - Boeing ( BA ) said on Thursday

it had sent a contract offer to the union representing roughly

17,000 engineers and technical workers in its commercial

airplane division.

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in

Aerospace's negotiating team endorsed the deal, according to a

post on the union's website.

No details of the proposed contract were immediately

available.

* The SPEEA negotiating team said the proposal "offers real

and meaningful value to the membership, delivers real positive

change to work/life balance and delivers on the membership's

priorities."

* Union officials for the engineers and technicians

bargaining units will review the terms and make a recommendation

to members next week.

* The current SPEEA contract expires on October 6.

* A strike could further delay certification campaigns for

Boeing's ( BA ) 737 MAX 10 - the largest variant of its single-aisle

jet - and the 777-9, its ​largest jetliner. The company is

already years behind schedule on certification, which ​is

engineering-intensive work.

* Boeing ( BA ) has had three major union contract negotiations in

as many years. The previous two, covering the planemaker's

commercial ⁠aircraft workers and a separate bargaining unit

of defense workers, both represented by ​the International

Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, ended after

extended strikes.

* In January, Boeing ( BA ) reached a contract with roughly 1,600

SPEEA members at the former Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita,

Kansas. The contract included a $6,000 ratification bonus,

annual wage increases, improvements to medical and retirement

plans, and an additional six days off a year.