(New York) The International Union of Machinists (IAM) and the American aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced Friday, separately, the holding of a third period of negotiations since the start of the strike on September 13 at its facilities in the northwest of the UNITED STATES.
“A solution with the IAM remains a priority for me, and our teams are ready to resume negotiations within the framework of mediation on Monday October 7 with the union of the northwest region,” indicated Kelly Ortberg, boss of Boeing since the beginning of August, in a message addressed to the group’s employees.
“No discussions took place over the past week, I was able to visit the teams in other sites of the company”, he clarified, detailing at length these visits and his meetings , in particular with the board of directors of Air New Zealand at the 787 Dreamliner factory in South Carolina.
For its part, the union indicated that a negotiation session would take place Monday from 9 a.m. (12 p.m. Eastern time) under the aegis of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).
“This meeting represents a crucial new opportunity to defend the priorities of our members. We will continue to fight tirelessly for the issues that matter most to us,” he said on his website.
Two periods of negotiations (September 17 and 18, then September 27) have already taken place in the presence of federal mediators to try to reach a new four-year social agreement.
More than 33,000 members of the IAM union have been on strike in the Seattle region, birthplace of Boeing, since September 13.
The group’s two main factories in Renton (producing the 737, its best-selling aircraft) and Everett (producing the 777 and housing several military programs) are among the sites completely shut down.
A draft agreement was rejected on September 12 – the expiration date of the previous agreement – by nearly 95% of members of IAM-District 751, the local branch of the union, who were not satisfied with the proposals, particularly in terms of salary increases (+25% instead of the +40% requested) and retirement. They voted 96% to strike.
On September 23, excluding mediation, Boeing sent an offer described as “best” and “final”, including a 30% salary increase. It was rejected by the union leadership.
The manufacturer, which is going through a difficult period due to problems with the quality of its production, has taken measures – including partial technical unemployment affecting tens of thousands of employees – to preserve its cash flow during the walkout.