Boeing Strike Given 48-Hour Reprieve
Posted on: Thursday, 4 September 2008, 09:00 CDT
A last-minute intervention by Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire kept 27,000 Boeing workers at their jobs after a strike had been set, union leaders said.
Boeing assembly workers, including painters, machinists and electricians, voted to strike over a contract offer that included rising contributions to healthcare costs and job security issues, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Gregoire and a federal mediator stepped in to extend the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Worker's expiring contract by 48 hours. The strike was to begin at 12:01 a.m. PDT Thursday, the Post reported.
But, union negotiator Mark Blondin and Tom Wroblewksi, president of Machinists District Lodge 751, said the strike would begin Saturday, if Boeing didn't come up with an acceptable offer.
The confrontation is viewed as critical for unions in a business era that includes jobs moving overseas and diminishing wage increases. It is also critical for Boeing, which is trying to stay on schedule with its orders for fuel-efficient 787 commercial jets, the Post reported.
Source: United Press International
Related Articles
- GM and UAW Talks Extended Indefinitely
- Northwest Gets No-Strike Injunction
- Boeing Reports Loss Despite Highflying Sales
- Pentagon pressing for new rapid-strike weapon: report
- Boeing Reports 98 Plane Deliveries in 1Q
- Boeing Machinists Walk
- Boeing, SPEEA Gear Up for Contract Negotiations
- Boeing and Machinists Union Reach Deal
- Rockets fired from Gaza strike Israel - report
- Boeing Machinists Reject Contract, Vote to Strike
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds