Skift Take
It’s an unwelcome return to the gate for everyone onboard these high-stakes union talks. With Boeing taking its ‘best and final’ offer off the negotiating table, the prospect of an extended dispute affecting plane deliveries is increasing by the day.
A bitter war of words has erupted between Boeing and a major labor union. Late on Tuesday, the planemaker withdrew a pay offer to 33,000 striking workers. The development increases the likelihood of the dispute dragging on, placing further aircraft deliveries to airlines in jeopardy.
Last month, Boeing presented what it described as its "best and final" offer to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). Highlights of the proposed deal included a 30% rise over four years, however, this was lower than the 40% being demanded by the union.
Boeing has now removed this offer from the table, alleging that the IAM failed to “seriously consider our proposals.”
In a letter to staff on Tuesday, Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, acknowledged that the strike had already “deeply affected” its business and the company’s wider stakeholders.
Following a third round of bargaining with a federal