Boeing factory strike ends as factory workers vote to accept contract

SEATTLE (AP) — Factory workers at Boeing voted to accept a contract offer and end their strike after more than seven weeks, clearing the way for the aerospace giant to resume production of its bestselling airliner and generate much-needed cash.

Leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district in Seattle said 59% of members who cast ballots agreed to approve the company’s fourth formal offer and the third put to a vote. The deal includes a 38% wage increase over four years, and ratification and productivity bonuses.

However, Boeing refused to meet strikers’ demand to restore a company pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.

The contract’s ratification on the eve of Election Day cleared the way for a major U.S. manufacturer and government contractor to restart Pacific Northwest assembly lines that the walkout idled for 53 days.

Bank of America analysts estimated last month that Boeing was losing about $50 million a day during the now-ended strike, which did not affect a nonunion plant in South Carolina where the company makes 787s.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a message to employees that he was pleased to have reached an agreement.

“While the past few months have been difficult for all of us, we are all part of the same team,” Ortberg said. “We will only move forward by listening and working together. There is much work ahead to return to the excellence that made Boeing an iconic company.”

According to the union, the 33,000 workers it represents can return to work as soon as Wednesday or as late as Nov. 12. Ortberg has said it might take “a couple of weeks” to resume production in part because some workers might need retraining.

The average annual pay of Boeing machinists is currently $75,608 and eventually will rise to $119,309 under the new contract, according to the company. The union said the compounded value of the promised pay raise would amount to an increase of more than 43% over the life of the agreement.

Reactions were mixed even among union members who voted to accept the contract.

Although she voted “yes,” Seattle-based calibration specialist Eep Bolaño said the outcome was “most certainly not a victory.” Bolaño said she and her fellow workers made a wise but infuriating choice to accept the offer.

“We were threatened by a company that was crippled, dying, bleeding on the ground, and us as one of the biggest unions in the country couldn't even extract two-thirds of our demands from them. This is humiliating," she said.

For other workers like William Gardiner, a lab lead in calibration services, the revised offer was a cause for celebration.

“I'm extremely pumped over this vote,” said Gardiner, who has worked for Boeing for 13 years. “We didn't fix everything — that's OK. Overall, it's a very positive contract.”

Union leaders had endorsed the latest proposal, saying they thought they had gotten all they could though negotiations and the strike. Along with the wage increase, the new contract gives each worker a $12,000 ratification bonus and retains a performance bonus the company wanted to eliminate.

“It is time for our members to lock in these gains and confidently declare victory,” leaders of IAM District 751 said before the vote. “We believe asking members to stay on strike longer wouldn’t be right as we have achieved so much success.”

President Joe Biden congratulated the machinists and Boeing for coming to an agreement that he said supports fairness in the workplace and improves workers’ ability to retire with dignity. The contract, he said, is important for Boeing’s future as “a critical part of America’s aerospace sector.”

Biden's acting labor secretary, Julie Su, intervened in the negotiations several times, including when Boeing made its latest offer last week.

A continuing strike would have plunged Boeing into further financial peril and uncertainty. Last month, Ortberg announced plans to layoff about 17,000 people and a stock sale to prevent the company’s credit rating from being cut to junk status.

The strike began Sept. 13 with an overwhelming 94.6% rejection of the company's offer to raise pay by 25% over four years — far less than the union’s original demand for 40% wage increases over three years.

Machinists voted down another offer — 35% raises over four years, and still no revival of pensions — on Oct. 23, the same day that Boeing reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion.

The contract rejections reflected bitterness that built up after union concessions and small pay increases over the past decade.

The labor standoff — the first strike by Boeing machinists since an eight-week walkout in 2008 — was the latest setback in a volatile year for the aerospace giant. The 2008 strike lasted eight weeks and cost the company about $100 million daily in deferred revenue. A 1995 strike lasted 10 weeks.

Boeing came under several federal investigations this year after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Federal regulators put limits on Boeing airplane production that they said would last until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company.

The door-plug incident renewed concerns about the safety of the 737 Max. Two of the planes had crashed less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. The CEO at the time, whose efforts to fix the company failed, announced in March that he would step down. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators who approved the 737 Max.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday's vote puts Boeing’s future back on more solid footing.

“Washington is home to the world’s most skilled aerospace workers, and they understandably took a stand for the respect and compensation they deserve,” Inslee said in a statement congratulating the workers.

Koenig reported from Dallas and Schoenbaum from Salt Lake City.

Joe Perry, who has worked for Boeing for 38 years, waits for the results of the union vote on a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at IAM District 751 Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Ed Lutgen shows off his tattoo while waiting to hear the results of the union vote on a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at IAM District 751 Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Joe Perry, who has worked for Boeing for 38 years, waits for the results of the union vote on a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at IAM District 751 Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Workers listen as IAM District 751 president Jon Holden gives a press conference after announcing the union voted to accept a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at their union hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

IAM District 751 president Jon Holden gives a press conference after announcing the union voted to accept a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at their union hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Eep Bolaño listens as IAM District 751 president Jon Holden announces that the union voted to accept a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at their union hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

IAM District 751 president Jon Holden gives a press conference after announcing the union voted to accept a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at their union hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

IAM District 751 president Jon Holden speaks to union members while announcing that they voted to accept a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at their union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Observers watch as volunteers tally votes on a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the IAM District 751 Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Observers watch as volunteers tally votes on a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at IAM District 751 Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Boeing employees line up to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the IAM District 751 Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

IAM District 751 president Jon Holden speaks to union members while announcing that they voted to accept a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at their union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A volunteer sorts votes on a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the IAM District 751 Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Volunteers tally votes on a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the IAM District 751 Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A worker watches as volunteers tally votes on a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at IAM District 751 Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Volunteers tally votes on a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the IAM District 751 Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A volunteer sorts votes on a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the IAM District 751 Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

IAM District 751 president Jon Holden greets union members after announcing they voted to accept a new contract offer from Boeing, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at their union hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A Boeing employee driving a "union express" van carries carafes as workers vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A truck displays a small strike sign in the parking lot of the Aerospace Machinists Union hall as Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A Boeing employee walks by a picket sign urging people to vote no on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

An Everett police officer stands inside the Angel of the Winds Arena as Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Boeing employees leave after voting on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, outside the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Boeing employees arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A Boeing employee, wearing a union shirt, arrives to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Boeing employees gather around a burn barrel as others arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - A Boeing employee holds up flyers encouraging others to vote no on a new contract offer from the company, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Boeing employee Adrian Camez, who works in Seattle, stokes the fire of a burn barrel as others arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

MAUMERE, Indonesia (AP) — Rescue workers on Tuesday were sifting through smoldering debris and thick mud in search of survivors, a day after a volcano on Indonesia’s remote island of Flores erupted with fury, killing at least nine people with its searing lava and ash.

Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki spewed thick brownish ash as high as 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) into the air, and searing lava, gravel and ash were thrown up to seven kilometers (4.3 miles) from its crater, blanketing nearby villages and towns with tons of volcanic debris and forcing residents to flee.

The National Disaster Management Agency on Tuesday lowered the known death toll from an earlier report of 10, saying it had received updated information from rescuers that a victim trapped under tons of debris in a collapsed house who was feared dead was eventually rescued alive and was now in critical condition at a hospital. The agency said 63 other people were hospitalized, 31 of them with serious injuries.

More than 2,400 villagers streamed into makeshift emergency shelters after Monday's powerful eruption that burned down seven schools and 23 houses, including a convent of nuns, on the majority-Catholic island, said the agency’s spokesperson, Abdul Muhari.

Smoldering debris, thick mud and a power blackout hampered the evacuation and search efforts, said Kensius Didimus, a local disaster agency chief,

“We’ll do everything we can to evacuate villagers by preparing trucks and motorbikes for them to flee at any time,” he said, adding that the debris and lava mixed with rainfall formed thick mud that destroyed the main roads on the island.

Authorities warned the thousands of people who fled the volcano’s wrath not to return during Tuesday’s lull in activity. But some were desperate to check on livestock and possessions left behind. In several areas, everything — from the thinnest tree branch to couches and chairs inside homes — was caked with ash.

Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed roads that were covered in heavy gray ash and houses covered by thick gray mud, rocks and uprooted trees.

The country’s geology agency said a series of eruptions since Thursday had created an accumulation of hidden energy due to a blockage of magma in the crater, which reduced detectible seismic activity while building up pressure.

“The eruptions have eased pressure that had been building under a lava dome perched on the crater,” said Priatin Hadi Wijaya, who heads the Center for Volcanology and Disaster Mitigation. “But we should anticipate hot ash and debris could tumble down from the crater due to heavy rains.”

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has instructed his Cabinet and disaster and military officials to coordinate the response, said Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, who like many Indonesians uses a single name.

The country’s volcano monitoring agency increased the volcano’s alert status to the highest level and more than doubled the exclusion zone to a seven-kilometer (4.3-mile) radius after midnight on Monday as eruptions became more frequent.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in the East Flores district of East Nusa Tenggara province known locally as the husband and wife mountains. “Laki laki” means husband, while its mate is Lewotobi Perempuan, or woman.

About 6,500 people were evacuated in January after Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki began erupting, spewing thick clouds and forcing the government to close the island’s Frans Seda Airport. No casualties or major damage were reported, but the airport has remained closed since then due to seismic activity.

This is Indonesia’s second volcanic eruption in as many weeks. West Sumatra province’s Mount Marapi, one of the country’s most active volcanos, erupted on Oct. 27, spewing thick columns of ash at least three times and blanketing nearby villages with debris, but no casualties were reported.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of 280 million people. The country is prone to earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity because it sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

Niniek Karmini and Andi Jatmiko in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers search for victims of the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, Indonesia on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (BASARNAS via AP)

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), a house is seen damaged by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, Indonesia on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (BASARNAS via AP)

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers inspect the bodies of the victims of the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, Indonesia on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (BASARNAS via AP)

Indonesian soldiers and residents put the body of a victim into a coffin for burial following the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, Indonesia, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)

FILE - Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spews volcanic materials from its crater during an eruption in East Flores, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Kriting, File)

In this photo made available by Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the sky glows from the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki early Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in East Flores, Indonesia. (PVMBG via AP)

Houses are seen damaged from the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, Indonesia, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)