BERNAMA – The struggling aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced that it has reached a tentative agreement with its largest union which includes a 25-per-cent wage increase just days before a threatened strike, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
The International Association of Machinists (IAM), representing approximately 33,000 employees, had originally been advocating for raises of about 40 per cent.
The income increase agreed on Sunday, as well as improvements to healthcare costs and retirement benefits, are to be applied over four years. It also provides increased job security for union members, including a commitment to build the next new airplane at one of the union-represented plants in the Puget Sound region.
Boeing noted that if the tentative agreement is ratified by September 12, employees will receive a one-time USD3,000 lump sum payment. The agreement is set to expire at midnight on Thursday, and a strike could have started immediately if no deal was reached.
