Last week, an overwhelming majority of Boeing’s some 33,000 members of the machinist union — 94.6% to be exact — rejected the company’s tentative contract and even more — 96% — voted to walk off the job.
The stunning tally came even after it was called “the best contract we’ve negotiated” by Jon Holden, the president of the machinist union, IAM District 751.
But some saw the Boeing strike coming from a mile away.
On the surface, the strike is about negotiating a better deal. For instance, the union initially asked for a wage increase of more than 40% over three years — far greater than Boeing’s final offer of a 25% raise spread over four years.
But the strike also stems from years of built-up frustrations, industry observers say. Some trace it back to 2014 when the company reopened the previous contract and forced the union to accept health and pension benefits. Others say the strain started nearly three decades ago in 1997 when Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas.
“This is part of a culture clash that I think started some time ago. Certainly with the machinists, they feel the company is treating them as interchangeable, replaceable workers, and that’s obviously, deeply offensive,” said Jake Rosenfeld, a professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis who studies labor.