Boeing's Largest White-Collar Union Rejects Four-Year Contract, Authorizes October Strike

Boeing engineers and technical workers have rejected the company's proposed four-year contract. Union officials said on Friday that the Aerospace Professional Engineering Employee Association (SPEEA), representing approximately 17,000 members, voted by an overwhelming majority to authorize the negotiating team to call a strike when the contract expires in October. SPEEA is Boeing's largest white-collar union. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A union spokesperson said the negotiating team plans to survey members to determine what conditions would be required to secure approval of a four-year contract with Boeing.

Although the negotiating team endorsed the contract terms, neither of SPEEA's two bargaining unit committees supported the proposal. The engineers' and technical workers' units negotiated jointly with Boeing but voted separately. The Boeing offer included inflation-linked wage increases capped at 3%, along with raises based on individual performance and other metrics determined by the company. Some SPEEA members who voted against the proposal said that setting the inflation adjustment cap at 3% makes it almost certain that wage growth will lag inflation. In July, the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the consumer price index in the Seattle area rose 4.5% over the past year, where most SPEEA members are based.

A work stoppage by SPEEA members would further delay the certification of the Boeing 737 Max 10 and 777-9 aircraft, both of which are already years behind schedule. In 2024, Boeing's commercial airplane production in the Seattle area was brought to a standstill by a seven-week strike involving approximately 33,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.