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Boeing (Photo = Yonhap news) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Chicago, Illinois — July 27, 2025 — Boeing, still recovering from an ongoing management and financial crisis, is once again facing the threat of a strike after workers in its defense division overwhelmingly rejected a proposed labor agreement.
According to Bloomberg and other U.S. media reports, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local 837, which represents approximately 3,200 employees at Boeing’s defense operations in Missouri and Illinois, voted down the company’s latest offer by a wide margin. The rejected proposal included a 20% wage increase over four years, a $5,000 signing bonus, an 8% pay raise in the first year, and changes to work schedules aimed at improving quality of life.
Union leaders said the offer failed to meet workers’ expectations.
“Boeing’s proposal does not adequately reflect the demands and sacrifices of our skilled workforce,” the union stated. “Our members are united in demanding a contract that respects their labor and secures a stable future.”
The existing contract expired at 11:59 p.m. on July 27, triggering a seven-day cooling-off period before any strike could begin. No new bargaining sessions between the company and union leadership have been scheduled, leaving the likelihood of a last-minute deal uncertain.
Dan Gillian, Boeing’s vice president of Air Dominance programs in the Defense, Space & Security unit, expressed disappointment in a company statement:
“It is disappointing that our best and final offer was rejected. This proposal reflected the union’s key demands and would have increased average wages by 40%.”
Gillian added that Boeing has activated contingency plans and is preparing for the possibility of a work stoppage.
Boeing’s defense division has reported operating losses since 2022 and has not faced a strike from its defense unit workers since 1996. The company’s commercial airplane division, however, was hit by a seven-week strike last year, halting production of key aircraft.
Boeing’s defense unit manufactures several critical platforms, including the F-15 and F/A‑18 fighter jets, the T‑7A trainer, the MQ‑25 refueling drone, and is slated to produce the F‑47, a sixth-generation fighter intended to replace the F‑22.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
