Portugal Colonial - Striking Boeing defense workers to vote on latest contract

Boeing's latest offer -- which has been endorsed by IAM District 837 union leaders behind the strike -- includes an upfront "ratification bonus" of $6,000.

If accepted, striking workers in the midwestern states of Missouri and Illinois would return to work after walking off the job on August 4.

The offer replaces the prior proposal of a $3,000 signing bonus plus $3,000 in restricted stock.

The earlier contract, which was narrowly rejected by workers on October 26, also included a $1,000 "retention bonus" in year four that has been dropped in the latest version.

Boeing has said previously it was recruiting replacement workers for striking staff, and while the company is proceeding with that plan, it confirmed that workers would still have a job if they ratified the latest contract.

"We will guarantee that all IAM 837 members will be returned to work if this offer is ratified. No one would be displaced," said a statement released by Steve Parker, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security. "This is not something we will be able to guarantee moving forward."

- Union leaders back offer -

Union leaders with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) had pressed for a higher bonus more in line with the one achieved by IAM members in the Pacific Northwest last November, following a strike that lasted more than seven weeks.

In that dispute, Seattle-area IAM members won a signing bonus of $12,000 following a strike that lasted more than seven weeks. The Seattle strike shuttered two major Boeing commercial airline manufacturing plants.

IAM representatives recognized that they were unlikely to garner a $12,000 bonus for midwestern workers in light of the higher cost of living in the Seattle region compared with St. Louis, leading union representatives to push for $10,000 at one point in the negotiations.

But IAM District 837 leaders have backed the latest proposal from Boeing, saying in a message to members it "recommends acceptance of the offer" in light of the shift on the bonus proposal to a $6,000 up-front payment.

"If ratified, return-to-work would begin with the third shift on Sunday, Nov. 16," the IAM message said.

The Boeing machinists work on F-15 and F-18 combat aircraft, the T-7 Red Hawk Advanced Pilot Training System and MQ-25 unmanned aircraft in factories in Missouri and Illinois.

H.Silva--PC