Boeing Co (NYSE:BA, ETR:BCO) workers have overwhelmingly rejected a 25% pay increase from the manufacturer, prompting thousands to walk out on strike overnight.
Some 30,000 Boeing workers in the Seattle and Portland area, where the firm’s 777 and 737 MAX aircraft are produced, walked out at midnight local time.
They had been offered a 25% pay increase and assurance that Boeing would build its next short-haul jet, which is yet to be unveiled, in the area.
However, 95% of those who voted rejected the offer, with the majority also backing strike action.
“Our members spoke loud and clear tonight,” International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) local president Jon Holden said, “we strike at midnight”.
The union had advised earlier this week that members back Boeing’s offer, despite having originally sought a 40% pay increase.
The strike marks another blow for Boeing, which has faced growing financial pressure on efforts to fix quality issues following several incidents in recent years.
New chief executive Kelly Ortberg had warned before the vote that a strike could put Boeing’s “recovery in jeopardy.”
Boeing had grappled with an eight-week strike in 2008, before the current contract with workers was drawn up, which was said to cost roughly US$1.5 billion (£1.14 billion) a month.
“The message was clear that the tentative agreement we reached with IAM leadership was not acceptable to the members,” a Boeing spokesperson said Friday.
“We remain committed to resetting our relationship with our employees and the union, and we are ready to get back to the table to reach a new agreement.”