IAM Union Rejects Boeing's Latest Contract Offer

DALLAS — IAM union leaders refuse to hold a vote on Boeing's "Best and Final Offer" (BAFO) this Friday to meet the manufacturer's deadline, citing logistical reasons for not being able to arrange a vote by the end of the week.

In an Interview Monday evening, International Association of Machinists District 751 president Jon Holden told The Seattle Times (TST) that the offer “could have been the start of meaningful discussion,” adding that while it was a start, there was no room for further discussion.

“We couldn’t even get logistically a vote for 33,000 people across multiple states in that amount of time, and without the ability to even talk to our members about it in a meaningful way" The union also told its member that "Boeing does not get to decide when or if you vote."

“The company has refused to meet for further discussion; therefore, we will not be voting on” Friday. - IAM Union

Despite being Boeing's largest offer yet, union workers told TST that newly proposed pay increase and retirement plans weren't enough. Moreover, the union wasn't happy with how Boeing went about making the offer directly to workers via the media.

It seems the IAM union has the upper hand, at least this week, as it knows Boeing is trying to put out many fires all at once.

The BAFO was intended to quickly terminate the current worker's strike as the manufacturer tries to dig itself out from unprofitable contracts with the Pentagon and NASA and deal with production quality issues under government and public scrutiny.

However, if the strike persists, IAM union workers will miss their first full paycheck and forfeit their employer-sponsored health insurance at the end of this month.