Union representatives, who speak for over 30,000 workers, have encouraged their peers to accept the proposal, praising it as the best contract they have ever worked on.
If accepted, the deal would represent a significant accomplishment for Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s new CEO, who is under pressure to address the company’s problems with quality and reputation.
On Thursday, Boeing employees in the Portland and Seattle areas will cast their votes for the agreement. If the agreement is rejected, a second ballot must be approved by two-thirds of union members in order for a strike to occur.
Stephanie Pope, the chief operating officer of the aerospace giant Boeing, called the plan a “historic offer” in a video address to staff members.
Should the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union members ratify it, it would mark the first comprehensive labor agreement between the company and the unions in sixteen years.
2008 saw the unions and Boeing reach an agreement on the current contract following an eight-week strike. It is now set to expire later this week, having been agreed to be extended by the two parties in 2014.
Negotiators commended the preliminary agreement and urged members to embrace it, despite the fact that it fell short of the union’s original demand for a 40% salary increase.
