Boeing workers agree to end strike
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Assembly workers at a Boeing factory in Long Beach near Los Angeles have agreed to end a strike that has lasted nearly one month, a union leader said Saturday.
The 1,700 workers, represented by the United Auto Workers Local 148, struck a deal with Boeing Co. late Friday after two days of talks arranged by a federal mediator, said Local 148 President Stan Klemchuk.
If the deal is approved by the union's rank-and-file who will vote on Wednesday, production could resume as early as the next day, said Klemchuk.
"Boeing put together a good deal here," Klemchuk said. "One thing about negotiations: You don't get everything you want. But we're happy with what was offered."
The workers went on strike May 11 after rejecting a labor contract, they said imposed too many concessions, including a lower company contribution for pensions and higher medical copayments.
Under the new proposed five-year contract, Boeing agrees to give the workers a 4,000-dollar lump sum payout instead of a pay raise this year.
Boeing also agrees to give the workers a 3-percent raise each year over the remaining life of the contract and increase its pension contribution by 2 to 81 dollars a month for every year of service.
Also, the workers would pay 13 percent of their medical costs, down from 15 percent under the previous contract offer.
"We think both sides had to give a little to reach this tentative agreement," said Cindy Anderson, a Boeing spokeswoman.
The Long Beach Assembly Plant produces the C-17 cargo planes, a workhorse for the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Boeing is facing the prospect of closing the plant soon because of slowing orders for the massive, four-engine military cargo plane.
