Boeing and machinists return to the table for strike talks

Boeing (nay) returns to the table with the machinists who they were on strike for more than three weeks. Some economic observers are comparing the impact of the work stoppage to that of Hurricane Helene.

“There are idiosyncratic factors that can cause quarter-to-quarter variations in GDP,” analysts at Oxford Economics wrote in a recent note. “The recent hurricane in Florida and the Carolinas and the Boeing hit have the potential to hurt GDP growth for the rest of the year.”

As the strike continues, its economic impact grows. There are already some concerns that it will crash November jobs report. There are more than 30,000 IAM workers outside the workplace plus leave initiated by Boeing and other possible ones after effects to Boeing suppliers.

The union representing the workers, the International Association of Machinery, confirmed on Friday that talks had resumed to end the strike.

“We wish to inform you that the Union Bargaining Committee and Boeing will meet with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS) to continue mediated negotiations on Monday, October 7, 2024 at 9:00 a.m.,” the union said. said its members.

The current stalemate between Boeing and IAM narrows to a few percentage points. During previous negotiations, the union sought a 40 percent raise for its members. Boeing submitted a contract offer with a 25 percent increase. The union rejected that contract and went on strike. The company came back with a “the best and final“Major offer of 30%. union rejected that too.

Although the two sides met at the negotiating table at the end of last monthdiscussions quickly sold out after discussions with revive Boeing’s pension made little progress. The standoff is proving costly for both sides: Boeing cut off the striking workers from the company’s insurance plans last week; until Boeing can get them back to the factory, the company should expect to burn 50 million dollars a day in cash.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.