Boeing SPEEA Engineers Reject Contract, Authorize Strike as Early as Oct. 7

Boeing's roughly 17,000 unionized engineers and technical workers voted Thursday to reject the planemaker's latest four-year contract offer and authorized a strike, a setback for CEO Kelly Ortberg's efforts to stabilize operations. The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace said its professional unit rejected the offer by 64% and the technical unit by about 72%; strike authorization passed with 88% and nearly 90% support, respectively. A walkout could begin as early as Oct. 7 absent a new deal. The rejected offer included a 34% wage increase over four years, lifting average base salaries to about $208,000 for engineers and $163,000 for technicians, according to the Wall Street Journal. Both SPEEA bargaining councils and the union's negotiating team had endorsed the proposal. Ortberg said in September that a strike would halt the 777 certification program and disrupt production. Boeing's commercial division has not posted an annual operating profit since 2018. A 2024 machinists' strike ended with a 38% raise over four years.