Boeing and SPEEA Head Back to Bargaining Table Amid Strike Looms
Boeing and its white-collar union, SPEEA, are set to return to the bargaining table on Monday in an effort to reach a deal before their current contract expires on October 6.
The meeting comes after SPEEA members rejected Boeing's contract offer last week and voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The union represents about 17,000 workers at Boeing facilities in Washington and nearby states.
SPEEA has listed wages as its top priority for the next contract, with 64% of professional unit members voting no on the current offer, which included a 3% general wage increase this year and yearly increases to wage pools. The union is also seeking to revisit language preventing Boeing from outsourcing union work to nonunion shops.
Boeing has started posting job openings for contract positions in preparation for a potential strike. However, labor experts predict that neither party wants a strike, given Boeing's recent challenges and the importance of its workforce.