Boeing employees accept agreement, end strike

Boeing workers in Seattle accepted the proposal from the aerospace company's management to put an end to a strike that began in mid-September.

This agreement includes a 38% wage increase over the next four years and improved conditions in retirement plans.

"The strike will end and now it's our job to get back to work and start building the airplanes, increase the rates and bring this company back to financial success. I'm proud of our members. They've achieved a lot, and we're ready to move forward," Jon Holden, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the union that represented the company's workers, said in remarks reported by AFP.

On Sept. 13, 95% of the employees voted in favor of going on strike, rejecting the agreement that the aviation giant offered. The workers rejected the 25% wage increase over four years that Boeing had initially proposed.

From there, negotiations between management and the union began. On Oct. 19, there was some initial progress, but employees again rejected a new proposal for a 35% wage hike made to them by Boeing to improve their working conditions. They extended the strike until the agreement was ultimately reached.