Boeing factory workers bring an end to turbulence as they vote to return to work

Factory workers at Boeing have voted to accept a deal and end their more than seven week long strike.

The move clears the way for the aerospace giant to resume production of its bestselling airliner and generate much-needed cash.

Leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district in Seattle said 59% of members who cast ballots agreed to approve the company's fourth formal offer and the third put to a vote. The deal includes a 38% wage rise over four years, and ratification and productivity bonuses.

However, Boeing will not meet strikers' demands to restore a company pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.

Boeing can now resume production

The contract's ratification on the eve of Election Day has cleared the way for a major US manufacturer and government contractor to restart Pacific Northwest assembly lines which has been idle for 53 days.

Bank of America analysts estimated last month that Boeing was losing about $50m (€46m) a day while the strike lasted. A non-union plant in South Carolina where the company makes 787s was not affected.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a message to employees that he was pleased to have reached an agreement.

"While the past few months have been difficult for all of us, we are all part of the same team," Ortberg said. "We will only move forward by listening and working together. There is much work ahead to return to the excellence that made Boeing an iconic company."

Compromise reached but no Boeing stays firm on pension

According to the union, the 33,000 workers it represents can return to work as soon as Wednesday or as late as 12 November. Ortberg has said it might take "a couple of weeks" to resume production in part because some workers might need retraining.

The average annual pay of Boeing machinists is currently $75,608 (€69,383) and eventually will rise to $119,309 (€109,486) under the new contract, according to the company. The union said the compounded value of the promised pay raise would amount to an increase of more than 43% over the life of the agreement.

President Joe Biden congratulated the machinists and Boeing for coming to an agreement that he said supports fairness in the workplace and improves workers' ability to retire with dignity.

The deal, he said, was important for Boeing's future as "a critical part of America's aerospace sector".

A turbulent year for Boeing

A continuing strike would have plunged Boeing into further financial peril and uncertainty. Last month, Ortberg announced plans to layoff about 17,000 people and a stock sale to prevent the company's credit rating from being cut to junk status.

The strike began on 13 September with an overwhelming 94.6% rejection of the company's offer to raise pay by 25% over four years - far less than the union's original demand for 40% wage increases over three years.

The labour standoff - the first strike by Boeing machinists since an eight-week walkout in 2008 - was the latest setback in a volatile year for the aerospace giant. The 2008 strike lasted eight weeks and cost the company about $100m (€92m) daily in deferred revenue. A 1995 strike lasted 10 weeks.

Boeing has come under several federal investigations this year after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Federal regulators put limits on Boeing airplane production that they said would last until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company.

The door-plug incident renewed concerns about the safety of the 737 Max. Two of the planes had crashed less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. The CEO at the time, whose efforts to fix the company failed, announced in March that he would step down. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators who approved the 737 Max.