Boeing Midwest Machinists Ratify 5-Year Deal — Three-Month Strike Ends with 24% Pay Gain

Boeing Midwest Machinists Ratify Contract, Ending Three-Month Strike

Several thousand machinists who assemble military aircraft and weapons for Boeing in the U.S. Midwest voted Thursday to ratify a new five-year labor agreement, bringing to an end a three-month strike that followed the rejection of four earlier company offers.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents roughly 3,200 employees who walked off the job on Aug. 4, said the deal includes a 24% wage increase over the life of the contract and a $6,000 signing bonus.

“We’re proud of what our members have fought for together and are ready to get back to building the world’s most advanced military aircraft,” the union said in its ratification statement.

Union officials said members will return to work Sunday at Boeing facilities in St. Louis and St. Charles, Missouri, and in Mascoutah, Illinois. At those plants the machinists produce fighter jets, weapons systems and the U.S. Navy’s first carrier-based unmanned aircraft.

Boeing released its own statement saying it looks forward to “bringing our full team back together” as operations resume at the affected sites.

Context and Negotiation Breakdown

Although far smaller than last year’s walkout by 33,000 Boeing employees who build commercial airliners, the three-month stoppage risked slowing efforts to stabilize the company financially. Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security division accounts for more than one-third of the company’s revenue.

Union leaders said talks collapsed over pay and retirement benefits. Boeing countered that the workers’ demands exceeded what was justified by Midwest living costs. The impasse prompted the Congressional Labor Caucus to send a letter to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg urging the company to return to the bargaining table.

“Boeing Defense workers produce planes and other defense equipment that the United States government and our men and women in uniform rely upon… These workers are essential to the success of your company, and they deserve a fair contract that reflects their hard work and sacrifices,” the caucus letter said.

Tensions rose in advance of the strike: employees rejected a proposed package that included a 20% raise over the contract term and $5,000 ratification bonuses. Boeing then proposed keeping those pay increases but removing a scheduling rule that limited overtime — an offer workers also turned down, leading to the walkout. The union later drafted a four-year contract and ratified it internally before sending the pre-approved terms to Boeing, which declined them.

Background: Recent Challenges at Boeing

Last year’s much larger strike shut factories in Washington state for more than seven weeks during a difficult period for the company. Boeing faced multiple federal investigations after a door plug detached from a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight, reviving safety concerns about the model. The 737 Max had been involved in two fatal crashes off Indonesia and in Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019, incidents that together claimed 346 lives and prompted widespread scrutiny of Boeing’s practices.

The new agreement gives the machinists a significant wage boost and a signing bonus while allowing Boeing to restore production at key defense facilities that supply the military and government contractors.