‘This is about respect:’ Boeing-related strikes go back more than 75 years

As the 33,000 factory workers who assemble some of Boeing’s best-selling planes voted to go on strike Thursday, the aerospace giant is facing yet another blow to its bottom line and reputation this year. The company has a turbulent history when it comes to maintaining labor peace.

Timeline of Boeing 2004 strikes

September 

Sept. 13: Machinists at Boeing voted Sept. 12 to go on strike, another setback for the giant aircraft maker whose reputation and finances have been battered and now faces a shutdown in production of its best-selling airline planes.

“This is about respect, this is about the past and this is about fighting for our future,” IAM District 751 President Jon Holden said in announcing the vote, The Associated Press reported.

Holden also confirmed the strike would be an “unfair labor practice strike.” Violations of the law on the shop floor such as discriminatory conduct, coercive questioning, unlawful surveillance and unlawful promise of benefits were cited.

“We have a right to communicate; we have a right to use fliers, and some of that was inhibited,” Holden said, according to KIRO 7.

In July, 99.9% of the thousands of Boeing’s Machinist Union members voted to authorize a strike vote if needed, the union confirmed to KIRO Newsradio. The members met at T-Mobile Park to vote.

Sept. 10: Boeing machinists plan for a strike. Union leaders are asking for a 40% raise in pay, but union president Jon Holden told The Seattle Times the latest offer calls for a 25% increase instead, which Holden said is still the largest general pay wage increase they’ve ever seen.

May 

May 29: The Boeing firefighter strike was near an end after months of fruitless negotiations, with the company at one time allegedly locking the firefighters out of facilities. The company and the union representing the firefighters, IAFF Local I-66, stated they reached a tentative agreement on a contract, according to KIRO 7.

May 6: Boeing firefighters were on the picket line after contract negotiations broke down. The issue was money. Firefighters said they are so underpaid that retaining qualified firefighters is nearly impossible.

May 5: Boeing locked out its private force of firefighters who protect its aircraft-manufacturing plants in the Seattle area and brought in replacements after negotiations with the firefighters’ union failed to deliver an agreement on wages.

Boeing strikes in 2023

November: The Boeing union prepared for an important discussion as the company’s contract with the machinists who build the jets in Renton and Everett was set to run out in 10 months, as reported by The Seattle Times.

June: Spirit Aerosystems shut down its factory in Kansas after workers voted to strike. According to CNN, Spirit Aerosystems is a key supplier to Boeing.

2022 strike

July: Almost 2,500 Boeing workers planned to strike after voting down a union contact, reported ABC News.

“Workers at three St. Louis-area plants will begin the strike on Aug. 1 after rejecting an offer that insufficiently compensated workers through its retirement plan, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAMAW, told ABC News,” the media outlet stated.

Workers avert strike in 2021

April: A week after Teamsters Local 174 members at Boeing authorized a strike, the group came back to ratify a 4-year contract, reported Teamsters Local Union No. 174’s website.

“What a difference a week makes, and what a victory this is for our members at Boeing and for workers everywhere,” Teamsters Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks stated via the union’s website. “Last week we were ready to take this fight to the street, and we received support from the entire Labor community, from Washington elected officials, and from the people of the Puget Sound area. Everyone stood together to tell Boeing they needed to start investing in their most valuable asset – their workers. And the company listened.”

Previous International Association of Machinists (IAM) strikes

2008: Approximately 27,000 machinist workers went on strike for 57 days due to pay and benefits being below standard alongside increasing fears regarding outsourcing and job security. It became the longest strike since 1995. When the two sides finally reached an agreement, the new contract was approved by 74% of those voting in favor.

The Associated Press reported the Boeing strike in 2008 cost the company about $100 million daily in deferred revenue. 

At its worst, Boeing had roughly 3,700 jets on backorder due to the strike.

2005: A 28-day strike occurred over the company’s limited medical and retiree benefits. The strike — which cost Boeing approximately $70 million daily — resulted in improved pension benefits and seniority rights.

1995: A 69-day strike was the result after Boeing proposed health care cuts, paltry wage increases and lack of guarantees on jobs in the company’s proposal. The strike stretched across three states — Washington, Oregon and Kansas.

1989: Due to lackluster overtime conditions, Boeing employees committed themselves to a 48-day strike. Approximately 57,800 IAM members hit the picket lines, demanding limits to the amount of overtime a Boeing employee could be forced to work.

1977: A 45-day strike happened — strategically starting during a period of increased production for the company — eventually ended with employees receiving improvements to both pension and retiree medical coverage.

1965: After workers failed to receive pay increases, improved benefits and union security among other demands in negotiations, a strike was set to start in 1962. But President John F. Kennedy intervened, requesting that both parties extend negotiations. In the 11th hour of the extension, the two sides agreed to a temporary deal, lasting until 1965.

A deal was reached just 19 days into the strike, with negotiations happening for all but five of the striking days.

1948: The longest strike in company history lasting 140 days, the cost of the strike was more than $2 million — approximately $25.6 million with inflation.

This was the only strike not to end in an agreement between Boeing and the IAM, as a rival union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, helped recruit strikebreakers for Boeing. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) demanded that the company cease bargaining with the Teamsters, fining Boeing  $172,000 a day, but Boeing ignored the request.

Workers who went on strike were accepted back to Boeing.

Contributing: Julia Dallas, Frank Sumrall and Steve Coogan, MyNorthwest; The Associated Press