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Workers vote on Thursday on Boeing ( BA ) labor deal

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Two-thirds majority needed to strike on Friday

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New CEO Ortberg urges workers to accept the deal

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Boeing ( BA ) wrestling with production delays, mounting debt

By Joe Brock and Allison Lampert

SEATTLE, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Boeing's ( BA ) U.S. West

Coast factory workers will vote on a much-criticized new

contract and a possible strike on Thursday, piling pressure on

the planemaker as it wrestles with chronic production delays and

mounting debt.

A potential strike starting on Friday would be a big early

blow to new CEO Kelly Ortberg, who was brought on last month to

restore faith in the planemaker after a door panel blew off a

near-new 737 MAX jet in mid-air in January.

Starting from 5 a.m. PT (1200 GMT), roughly 30,000 workers

who produce Boeing's ( BA ) 737 MAX, 767 and 777 jets in the Seattle

and Portland areas will vote on their first full contract in 16

years.

Polling will close at 6 p.m. PT and the result will be

announced this evening, the International Association of

Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said. If a strike is

sanctioned, it could start at midnight.

The proposed deal includes a general wage increase of 25%, a

$3,000 signing bonus and a pledge to build Boeing's ( BA ) next

commercial jet in the Seattle area, provided the program is

launched within the four years of the contract.

Although the IAM leadership recommended its members accept

the deal on Sunday, workers have responded angrily to the terms,

with many arguing for the originally demanded 40% pay rise and

lamenting the loss of an annual bonus.

Workers have protested in Boeing ( BA ) factories in the Seattle

area that assemble Boeing's ( BA ) MAX, 777 and 767 jets this week,

with some banging pots and blowing horns, two employees said.

Following a meeting to discuss the contract at IAM's office

in Seattle on Wednesday, six Boeing ( BA ) employees told Reuters they

would be voting to strike and were confident the bulk of union

members would do the same.

"I'm ready to go on strike for as long as necessary to get

everything that we deserve," said Josh King, a 36-year-old

quality inspector, dismissing Boeing ( BA ) leadership's assertion that

it had offered the best deal possible.

"Normally, a strike doesn't bring a worse offer, it always

brings a better offer."

In a sign some workers are already preparing for picket

lines, one union member left the meeting carrying a placard

under her arm that read: "On Strike Against Boeing".

ORTBERG'S PLEA

Boeing ( BA ) shares are down 36% this year on concerns over

safety, production and a $60 billion debt burden. A strike would

pile on the financial pain and add to delays in delivering

planes to airlines already struggling with capacity shortages.

According to a note from TD Cowen, a 50-day strike could

cost Boeing ( BA ) an estimated $3 billion to $3.5 billion of cash

flow. The Boeing ( BA ) workers' last strike in 2008 shuttered plants

for 52 days and hit revenue by an estimated $100 million per

day.

Ortberg sent a letter to workers on Wednesday, urging them

to sign the deal for the good of the company.

"A strike would put our shared recovery in jeopardy, further

eroding trust with our customers and hurting our ability to

determine our future together," the letter said.

The labor talks are a key test for Ortberg, who met with the

union's main negotiator after arriving in August with a pledge

to improve labor relations and safety and ramp up production of

Boeing's ( BA ) best-selling 737 MAX passenger jet.

Ortberg and Boeing Commercial Airplanes boss Stephanie Pope

hit the floor at the company's jet assembly plants in Everett

and Renton this week to talk with workers about the proposed

deal, a source said.

Boeing ( BA ) machine repair mechanic Harold Wilson said he had

mixed emotions about the contract and wanted to see better

pensions and higher wages for younger workers.

"Standing on the outside I don't see the contract going

through. I don't think we'll be here on Friday," Wilson said.

"I think Boeing ( BA ) will be left struggling again."