Everett Contract Vote Scheduled
Members of Boeing’s engineering and technician union are set to vote Thursday on what union officials describe as the aerospace company’s final contract proposals. The balloting follows a previous rejection of earlier offers alongside the approval of a strike authorization measure.
Union representatives stated that on Aug. 21, members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace voted against proposals for two bargaining units, rejecting them despite unanimous backing from the negotiations team. Officials noted that while Boeing executives appeared sincere and focused on solutions, the membership determined the offer was insufficient.
Negotiations resumed on Sept. 8, and Boeing presented a new offer three days later.
Union spokesperson Bryan Corliss stated in an email Monday that compensation constitutes the most significant alteration. Compared to the initial proposals, the new versions allocate more funds for raises.
The professional and technical units include personnel at Boeing locations in Washington, Oregon, California, and Utah. Corliss indicated that approximately half of the workers within the professional and technical bargaining units are based in Everett.
Boeing’s August proposal included aggregate wage pool increases of 29.4% over a four-year span, representing the largest wage-pool increase for union members since 1983. The company also suggested three additional days of paid leave annually, reduced limits on mandatory overtime, and increased opportunities for virtual work.
Boeing proposed biannual meetings for the union and senior executives to discuss future work deployment and a joint labor-management committee on the use of Artificial Intelligence, the release said.
Despite these measures, 64.3% of the professional unit, which represents nearly 13,000 engineers and scientists across Boeing, voted against the proposed contract. Of the technical unit, representing around 4,000 analysts, designers, technicians and other specialists, 71.9% voted no.
Ninety-two percent of eligible union members voted in August, with 87.8% of the professional unit and 89.7% of the technical unit voting in favor of the strike authorization.
A strike could not take place until after current contracts expire on Oct. 6.
Boeing's new offer would raise the professional unit's average base salary from $152,000 to $208,000 and the technical unit's base salary from $119,000 to $163,000, according to a Boeing press release. Compared to the initial offer, this is an increase of $11,000 and $8,000, respectively.
A proposed 10% guaranteed wage increase would be effective in October, Corliss said. Another 4% increase would come in March 2027.
There will be 6% wage pool increases in 2028, 2029 and 2030, with 4% raises guaranteed and the remaining 2% in selective funds awarded at managements discretion each year, he said. Including funds for promotions and out-of-sequence raises, these offers provide pay increases of 34% (not compounded) over four years.
The new offer also includes revised language on the company's work-from-home policy, overtime limits for professional unit members, and a new process for communicating future workforce needs to help union members plan their Boeing careers, according to a union press release.
Contract improvements such as enhanced healthcare and retirement benefits, two additional vacation days, one new floating holiday and three bereavement days remain the same as in the initial offer, the Boeing release said.
Boeing has presented a new contract proposal to its professional engineering staff, emphasizing that the package delivers greater value through assured salary hikes and an expanded wage allocation across the duration of the agreement. Ben Nimmergut, the company’s vice president and functional chief engineer for Production Engineering, outlined these details in a statement issued on Sept. 17, urging the workforce to review the terms and cast their ballots.
The union negotiating committee is advising members to approve the deal. In a joint communication sent to members on Sept. 11, the team stated that employee leverage enabled the group to press the corporation to address key priorities. While acknowledging that the proposal does not fulfill every initial request, the negotiators described it as a significant advancement in compensation and working conditions, as well as a move to restore relations between corporate leadership and union members.
Ballots will be accepted from noon on Thursday until noon on Oct. 1.
A prior edition of this report mistakenly identified the professional and technical group as separate unions; in fact, they constitute two distinct bargaining units within the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace.