As expected, IAM 751 rejected Boeing’s last best and final offer and voted to strike. What was unexpected was the overwhelming majority (96%) of the members voting against an agreement their leadership had recommended accepting. The prospects for a quick settlement are not good. The membership has prepared for a strike for most of this decade. Boeing’s rationale for ratification is essentially “we are in trouble and this is the best we can afford”. This is liable to fall flat on a membership who felt like they have given in the past few negotiations while leadership and shareholders have benefitted from the member’s sacrifices. Dennis Muilenburg, for example, left Boeing in 2019 with total compensation for that year of $58M (per Boeing’s proxy filing in 2020). Dave Calhoun received approximately with $32M in compensation in 2023. The view from the membership is that it is good that Boeing executives are admitting that their decisions have put the company in this position, but those who made the decisions are not the ones being asked to pay for them.
