Written by Alison Lambert
(Reuters) – A temporary labor contract agreed between Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) and one of its largest labor unions has angered many workers who had hoped for higher wage increases and better pensions, an official who negotiated the deal said on Monday.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which represents more than 32,000 workers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, announced the deal with Boeing on Sunday, sending shares of the aerospace giant higher on Monday.
It is not yet clear whether IAM members will vote to accept the deal, or choose to strike, when they hold a vote on Thursday, according to John Holden, president of IAM’s District 751 and the lead negotiator on the Boeing contract.
“They are angry,” Holden told Reuters, adding that he believed this was the best deal the union could get in negotiations.
Asked if he believed the deal would be ratified, he said: “The power is within our members on the council.”
The proposed four-year contract included a 25 percent overall wage increase and a commitment by Boeing to build its next commercial jet in the Seattle area, provided the aircraft program launches within the four years of the contract.
Holden said many members wanted to wait for a 40% pay rise over the life of the contract and reinstate a defined-benefit pension plan they reluctantly abandoned during a round of negotiations a decade ago.
“It’s hard to recover from ten years of losing so many important things,” Holden said.
If union workers reject the deal and decide to strike, it would be a major blow to Boeing’s new CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took office last month with a mandate to improve safety and increase production of Boeing’s best-selling 737 Max passenger jet.
Boeing faces a quality crisis and scrutiny from regulators and customers after a door seal on its new Max jet nearly exploded Alaska Airlines (NYSE:) A jetliner in flight in January.
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