MELISSA BLOCK, Host:
Union workers are set to strike against Boeing at one minute after midnight. A federal mediator had forced both sides to the table after the International Association of Machinists voted overwhelmingly to reject the company's new contract offer on Wednesday. The walkout was postponed for 48 hours and hopes of a last-minute agreement. But late today, the union sent out an e-mail to its workers that read, the strike is on.
From Seattle, NPR's Wendy Kauffman reports.
WENDY KAUFFMAN: With more than 27,000 workers, the machinists union is the largest at Boeing, and a strike by its members would halt production at Boeing plants - something the company can ill afford.
Boeing's order book for new planes is overflowing. Its flagship plane, the new 787, is already more than a year behind schedule.
But while Boeing can't afford a lengthy walkout, it doesn't want to lock itself into a long term contract that adds new fixed cost. And it doesn't want to limit its flexibility as to where planes will be built and by whom.
The contract put forth by Boeing calls for an 11 percent wage increase over three years, increase pensions and lump sum payments totaling several thousand dollars. Boeing calls it an outstanding offer - the best in the industry. But the union looks upon this contract very differently. Its leaders say it's time to play hardball and use the leverage they believe they have to get a better contract.
(SOUNDBITE OF CROWD SHOUTING)
Unidentified Group: Union power.
Unidentified Woman: What kind of power?
Group: Union power.
Woman: What kind of power?
Group: Union power.
Woman: What kind of power?
KAUFMAN: On Wednesday evening, at the main union hall in Seattle, shop stewards and other union members chanted and shouted and waved picket signs even before the votes were counted. The result was a stinging rebuke of Boeing's offer with 87 percent voting to strike. News that the strike would be postponed for 48 hours brought jeers and hoots and name-calling directed at union officials, Mark Blondin and Tom Wroblewski.
Unidentified Man: Brothers and sisters, please hear us out.
(SOUNDBITE OF SHOUTING)
Man: Brothers and sisters.
(SOUNDBITE OF BOOING)
KAUFMAN: Over the years, the union has worked with the company to improve productivity. And when times were tough, the IAM made concessions. Now, the company is raking in billions of dollars in profits and union members want a bigger piece of the pie.
John Lopez Jr.(ph) is among those who rejected the contract and voted to strike.
JOHN LOPEZ JR: The contract's unfair to all of our workers out there in the top(ph) floor, the people that are about ready to retire and the people who have just started with the company. It doesn't respect anybody.
KAUFMAN: Machinists, whose average wage is about $54,000, want a better economic package and a strong commitment to job security. Increasingly, Boeing is using outside contractors for work union members used to do.
Asked about the talks that resumed late yesterday, Boeing's chief negotiator Doug Kight told reporters that Boeing's objective remain the same - to get a fair contract.
DOUG KIGHT: That is good for our employees, good for our business, rewards employees for the success they've helped create yet keep this company competitive for the long term.
KAUFMAN: But as with any contract, the devil is in the details - in this case, about 300 pages worth of details. When closed door talks with the federal mediator began, the two sides remained far apart. The strike will begin at midnight. Weekend production work at Boeing 737, 787 and other jets will all come to a halt.
Wendy Kaufman, NPR News, Seattle. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.