White House urges Boeing, striking union to work to reach deal
Recasts with White House comment, no Boeing comment, more details
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) -The White House said on Thursday it was encouraging Boeing BA.N and the union representing about 33,000 striking machinists to continue working to reach a deal, a day after workers rejected the planemaker's latest contract offer.
President Joe Biden "directed his team … to encourage parties to continue working to achieve an agreement that works, certainly for all parties," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. "We're going to continue to monitor those negotiations and continue to make sure that we encourage that."
Earlier on Thursday, the Labor Department said Acting Secretary Julie Su was in contact with Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
She was in Seattle twice last week to assist in contract talks that are aimed at ending a six-week strike that has halted production of Boeing's best-selling 737 MAX as well as 767 and 777 wide-body programs.
A spokesperson for Su said she "is available to support" Boeing and IAM.
Boeing declined to comment. The IAM did not respond to a request for comment.
The union said 64% of workers voted against the latest deal, which offered a 35% rise in wages over four years.
The rejection of Boeing's offer, which comes after 95% of workers voted against a first contract last month with a 25% pay hike, reflects years of resentment from workers and deepens a financial crisis at the company.
After the vote, union leaders said they were ready to immediately resume negotiations with Boeing.
The union has been seeking a 40% pay rise and the return of a defined-benefit pension.
Since the strike began on Sept. 13, Boeing has announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs and is closing in on a plan to raise up to $15 billion from investors to help preserve its investment grade credit rating. Some airlines have had to trim schedules due to aircraft delivery delays.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Franklin Paul and Jamie Freed
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
