ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — One of the drivers behind the machinists’ strike at Boeing St. Louis can be traced to the contract that the union ratified in 2014, some union members and observers say.
The aviation giant at that time enacted a two-tier pay system as a cost-cutting measure, with newer hires paid considerably lower than long-term employees. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 succeeded in scrapping the two-tier system in 2022, but some say lingering resentment from workers who felt betrayed by their union and Boeing is a factor in why they rejected two contract offers — one on July 27 and a second on Aug. 3 — before voting to strike.
Steve Nikolaisen, who worked briefly as an assembly mechanic at Boeing in 2018, said there are lessons to be learned in the aftermath of the 2014 contract…