Boeing Union Members Approve Revised Four-Year Contract

Boeing’s largest white-collar union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, said members approved the company’s revised four-year contract on Thursday, October 1, removing the immediate threat of a strike. The union reported that 67.6% of its professional unit and 53.5% of its technical unit voted in favor. The agreement covers about 17,000 Boeing engineers, scientists, designers, analysts and technicians. The two bargaining units voted separately. The technical unit’s approval was narrower, with just over half voting to ratify, according to the union’s reported results. The revised contract provides a 10% pay increase upon ratification and guaranteed annual raises of 4%, with the possibility of an additional 2% tied to performance, according to reporting on the offer. SPEEA said the package would produce an average pay increase of 32% over four years, compared with 26.5% under Boeing’s initial offer. That average is the union’s estimate; the contract’s stated raise structure is reported separately. The first proposal was rejected by members of both units, and the union had authorized a strike.