New York (AFP) – Boeing delivered 33 new aircraft to customers in September in spite of a labor strike of Seattle-area workers that has shuttered two major assembly plants, the company said Tuesday. The aerospace giant delivered 27 Boeing 737 MAX jets, which are assembled in Renton, Washington, which has gone quiet since the strike launched September 13 by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), District 751. The 737 MAX planes were cleared for delivery by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to Boeing, which expects fewer deliveries in the coming period due to the strike.
Airlines receiving new MAX planes included United Airlines, Ryanair, Southwest Airlines, Air India, China Southern Airlines, and Shenzhen Airlines. Boeing also delivered four 787 Dreamliner planes, which are assembled at a non-union plant in Charleston, South Carolina that is not out on strike.
With the strike now in its fourth week, Boeing and the IAM met Monday to resume negotiations, along with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. “Although we met with Boeing and federal mediators all day, there was no meaningful movement to report,” the IAM said on its website late Monday. “We will be back at it tomorrow, continuing to push the critical issues you’ve told us matter most.”
About 33,000 Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest are out on strike in a fight focused on higher wages and improved retirement benefits. Workers complain of more than a decade of near-flat wages during a period when inflation has risen. Boeing’s most recent offer included a 30 percent wage hike.
Boeing has delivered 291 aircraft through the end of the third quarter, down 22 percent from the same period in 2023. Prior to the IAM strike, which also has shuttered an Everett plant where the 777 is assembled, the FAA had limited Boeing’s production following a January incident on Alaska Airlines in which a panel blew out mid-flight, necessitating an emergency landing.
© 2024 AFP
