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By the Leeham News Team

July 22, 2024, © Leeham News: Boeing’s (BA) largest union in Seattle, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 751 - voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if contract negotiations fail.

Thousands of members attended a rally at T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners baseball team, during which “nearly” 99.9% voted to empower the union to strike, according to IAM representatives.

Workers in Washington State are seeking a 40% pay increase in an attempt to claw back concessions previously given to the company by the union. The Local represents over 30,000 members in the region, which includes the plants in Renton and Everett, where the 737 Max and 777 aircraft are assembled.

The current labor contract will expire on Sept. 12, 2024. With a successful mandate granted by the rank and file, leverage will be applied to Boeing in upcoming negotiations. “We want the company to take our proposals seriously and bargain earnestly," said Jon Holden, President of IAM District 751.

It’s been 10 years since the last contract was approved. The basic contract was entered into after a 57-day strike in 2008. Boeing’s CEO at the time, Jim McNerney, then demanded concessions the following year in return for locating a second 787 assembly line in Everett (WA), the assembly plant for widebody airplanes. The IAM offered concessions, which Boeing said were inadequate, and the second line went to the production facility in Charleston (SC).