St. Louis-area Boeing workers vote to authorize strike

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - Workers at three Boeing locations in St. Louis have authorized a strike.

Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 (IAM) voted to authorize the strike Sunday after also voting to reject a contract offer from Boeing. The strike is set to start August 1 if a deal is not reached before then.

IAM Local 837 released the following statement about the vote, that said in part:

“Our members have spoken loudly and with one voice. We reject Boeing’s current contract offer and will strike at all three St. Louis area locations, starting at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. We cannot accept a contract that is not fair and equitable, as this company continues to make billions of dollars each year off the backs of our hardworking members. Boeing previously took away a pension from our members, and now the company is unwilling to adequately compensate our members’ 401(k) plan. We will not allow this company to put our members’ hard-earned retirements in jeopardy.’

Boeing also released a statement about the strike vote:

Boeing is disappointed with Sunday’s vote to reject a strong, highly competitive offer. We are activating our contingency plan to support continuity of operations in the event of a strike.