Boeing and union reach tentative agreement to end the strike
This is the fifth week of the strike at the aerospace company. Approximately 33,000 workers are involved. It is Boeing's first strike in 16 years.
Boeing workers on strike.
Boeing and its main union of striking workers have reached a tentative agreement, the union announced. The strike at the aerospace company is now in its fifth week, with some 33,000 workers demanding better working conditions.
That agreement is pending ratification by a majority of the rank-and-file members of the International Association of Machinists before it can go into effect and workers can return to work. The union will hold the vote on Wednesday.
Rank-and-file almost unanimously rejected an earlier tentative agreement. This is the first strike at the company in 16 years. However, the union's statement said the new offer deserves to be put to a membership vote.
The union credited acting Labor Secretary Julie Su with negotiating the deal in indirect talks between the union and management. Su had also negotiated the end of an International Longshoremen's Association strike at dozens of East and Gulf Coast ports earlier this month, following a three-day strike.
That strike has been a major obstacle for Boeing, which underwent a change in leadership just one month prior. The company has been facing serious product safety and warranty issues for months, after several accidents were reported on its Boeing 737 Max model.
The strike has cost the company an estimated $1 billion.
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