Thousands of Boeing defense workers in the US have gone on strike for the first time in 30 years
On August 4, thousands of workers in the defense division of the Boeing company went on strike for the first time since 1996. About this informs The Washington Post.
About 3,200 workers at plants in Missouri and Illinois voted to reject Boeing’s latest contract offer. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers are participating in the protest — they are those who assemble F-15 and F/A-18 fighters, as well as create missiles.
The previous strike of this division took place back in 1996, when the workers were part of the McDonnell Douglas company, which later merged with Boeing. The current strike is another challenge for CEO Kelly Ortberg, who is trying to stabilize Boeing after a series of financial losses, production difficulties and safety issues.
Despite the scale, this protest is much smaller than last year’s strike in Seattle, organized by a union that unites more than 33 thousand Boeing workers. The strike then halted production of a number of the most popular commercial aircraft models for nearly two months. It ended in November after agreements were reached to raise wages and expand benefits.
We will remind, in the fourth quarter of 2024, Boeing suffered significant losses due to problems with the safety of aircraft, cost overruns within the limits of defense contracts and the consequences of strikes. The total annual losses of the company amounted to 11.8 billion dollars.
