Boeing engineers and technicians vote down four-year contract, authorize strike

On Aug. 21, members of SPEEA, Boeing’s largest white-collar union, turned down the planemaker’s four-year contract offer, with 64% of engineers and about 72% of technical staff voting no. The union also approved a strike-authorization vote that would allow its negotiating team to call a work stoppage once the current contract lapses on Oct. 6. Boeing’s vice-president Ben Nimmergut said the company must now implement its contingency plan and reallocate funds originally earmarked for the SPEEA workforce.

Union negotiators, including Katheryn Durkee and Kevin Boyd, indicated they will poll members to identify the concessions required for a new deal, emphasizing concerns over wage increases capped at 3% and the impact of Seattle’s 4.5% inflation rate. A strike could further delay certification of the 737 Max 10 and 777-9 aircraft, already behind schedule. The last SPEEA strike occurred in 2000, and the most recent major Boeing labor action was a seven-week walkout by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in 2024.