Boeing's four-year contract offer to its 17,000 engineers and technical workers was overwhelmingly rejected by union members. The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) announced the rejection on Friday, with members also voting to authorize their negotiating team to declare a strike if a new agreement isn't reached by the current contract's expiration in October. While the union's negotiating team had endorsed the terms, neither of SPEEA's bargaining unit councils backed the offer, with one falling just short of recommending rejection and the other explicitly rebuking it. This rejection could further delay the certification of Boeing's 737 MAX 10 and 777-9 planes, which are already several years behind schedule.
Key reasons for the rejection included concerns over wage increases. The proposed contract offered wage increases tied to inflation, but capped at 3%, which many members felt would not keep pace with the 4.5% Consumer Price Index rise in the Seattle area over the past year. The offer also included individual performance metrics determined by the company for part of the wage increase. Union members also expressed a deep-seated mistrust of Boeing's management, stemming from years of perceived erosion of jobs, declining quality, and safety concerns since the merger with McDonnell Douglas nearly 30 years ago. Although the negotiating team highlighted a 31.9% compounded salary increase over the contract's length as a key benefit, members scrutinized the fine print, noting that much of this was not guaranteed and depended on variable factors.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg had stated the company began early discussions to reach an agreement that supported employees and provided business clarity. However, Ben Nimmergut, Boeing's VP of Production Engineering, expressed that the company now has "no choice but to implement our contingency plan" and divert funds that would have been invested in workers to prepare for a potential strike. The rejected offer included a 3% general wage increase retroactive to February 20, 2026, and a 40% increase in the target payout for the annual incentive bonus plan, along with 40 units of restricted Boeing stock valued at over $9,000. SPEEA members also noted that the blue-collar union workers in the Puget Sound area had secured a 38% general wage increase, compounding to about 43% over their four-year contract, making Boeing's current offer seem insufficient by comparison.
