Boeing factory workers rejected a new labour contract that would have increased their wages by 35 per cent over four years, dealing a blow to the embattled aircraft manufacturer as it tries to overcome a crippling work stoppage.
About 64 per cent of the union members who cast ballots on Wednesday voted against the tentative agreement, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district representing the 33,000 striking workers.
“We remain on strike,” IAM District 751 president Jon Holden said after the vote count. “Our members deserve more and have spoken loudly.”
While the opposition this time was smaller than the overwhelming 94 per cent vote to reject the company’s initial offer in September, the result is a setback to Boeing’s efforts to get operations back on track. The aircraft manufacturer has been forced to suspend work on its 737 and larger 767 and 777 airliner models at its Seattle-area manufacturing hub for more than a month, weighing on its finances and putting credit-rating companies on alert for a possible downgrade to junk status.
The move will send Boeing and the union back to the negotiating table after six weeks of stop-start talks that eventually led to the White House dispatching Acting Secretary of Labour Julie Su to Seattle to help break the stalemate. While Boeing’s latest pay offer was an increase from its initial 25 per cent rise, workers are still angered by the failure to reinstate their defined-benefit pension plan.
“The loss of the pension is still right at the heart of this for many” union members, Mr Holden said. “We’re going to put all cards on the table” to see what Boeing can offer in lieu of the pension plan, he added.
The strike has derailed the planemaker’s financial recovery, and its after-effects will linger deep into 2025. Boeing expects to burn cash next year, one reason the company is preparing a potential equity sale to bolster its reserves, executives said during an earnings call Wednesday.
The manufacturer was on track to generate a surge of revenue from rising jet deliveries before the labour strife. With that activity all but halted, Boeing expects to burn about $4 billion in cash during the fourth quarter, similar to its outflow earlier this year, according to chief financial officer Brian West. This would bring the company’s total free cash outflow to about $14 billion for 2024, its worst performance since the Covid pandemic flattened air travel in 2020.
Investors had seen the vote as a possible positive catalyst to help the plane maker turn a corner on a year of cascading crises. Boeing shares have lost about 40 per cent of their value this year, putting them on track for the worst annual return since 2008.
The labour strife is costing the company about $100 million a day in lost revenue by some estimates, and the stoppage has shut down Boeing plants in Washington, Oregon and California.
Boeing’s new chief executive Kelly Ortberg has already instituted a range of cost cuts to weather the fallout from the strike, including a 10 per cent reduction in the workforce alongside other measures that include hiring freezes and travel bans. Mr Ortberg took over in August following a shake-up of senior management in the wake of cascading crises since the start of the year at Boeing.
The fallout is also rippling through Boeing’s suppliers. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. has said that it will furlough 700 workers, and that it might need to resort to layoffs if the strike continues into next month.
Meanwhile, some airlines have had to revise their growth targets because they are not likely to get the aircraft they had planned for next year. Boeing had previously sought to return its 737 Max model to a production rate of 38 a month by year-end, with analysts now saying that it is unlikely to reach that target until well into 2025.
The strike by IAM District 751 is the first major labour strife at Boeing in 16 years. As hourly workers are pushing for 40 per cent pay increases and better retirement benefits, they are driven by resentment over receiving paltry wage increases over the past decade while senior executives were richly rewarded.
“I’m in favour of a fair contract,” said Charles Fromong, 59, a machine tool repair mechanic working for Boeing’s military aircraft division. “The strike is just a by-product of Boeing not paying people what they are worth.”
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version
- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number
- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently
- Always create a different guest network for visitors
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
