Boeing machinists vote on contract, threaten strike

By Bill Rigby

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Almost 27,000 Boeing Co (BA.N) workers are voting on the plane maker's latest three-year contract offer on Wednesday, urged by their union to reject it and walk off their jobs at midnight, raising the possibility of the fourth Boeing strike in 20 years.

If members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) -- mostly based in Boeing's commercial plane plants in the Seattle area -- do shut down operations, it would cost the company $3 billion in revenue per month as customers' planes sit on the production lines.

It would also put a dent in the U.S. economy, swelling jobless claims and increasing inventories at major Boeing suppliers like Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Inc (SPR.N), Rockwell Collins Inc (COL.N) and Goodrich Corp (GR.N). If airlines are put off buying new planes, it would also cut durable goods orders.

Voting at union halls in the Seattle area opened at 5 a.m. local time (8 a.m. EDT), and will continue until 6 p.m. A result is expected from 8 p.m. (11 p.m. EDT), after local votes and those from Boeing's smaller plants in Wichita, Kansas and Portland, Oregon are tallied.

Thousands of workers marched from Boeing's main plant at Everett, Washington, during their lunch break to vote at the nearby union hall, wearing blue union T-shirts and chanting "Strike, strike, strike!" to the accompaniment of air horns and cowbells.

"Boeing kept saying they were listening, but obviously they weren't," said Mark Shields, a 19-year veteran mechanic for Boeing who works on the 777. "We'll stay out as long as we have to."

"BEST AND FINAL"

Boeing's "best and final" three-year contract offer includes a 5 percent wage increase for the first year, plus 3 percent hikes for each of the remaining two years. The company said those increases, along with new incentive plans, will add about $34,000 over the life of the contract to the pay of the average machinist, who makes about $55,000 a year before overtime or about $65,000 after overtime.

The company, which raised its initial wage increases and took some controversial proposals off the table, is also offering a one-time 6 percent lump sum payment and an additional $2,500 bonus if the contract is approved on Wednesday.

The IAM has slammed the contract terms, saying it reduces benefits, shifts more health care costs onto workers, and doesn't address job security or outsourcing issues. Union leaders are encouraging members to reject the terms of the contract and vote in favor of a strike, which would start just after midnight.

"The higher the percentage yes vote (to a strike), the stronger the message," the IAM said in a recent posting on its website. "The Boeing Company needs to see you are serious."

A simple majority can reject the contract, but more than two-thirds must back a strike for it to go ahead.

The mood was combative at Everett, where about 13,000 IAM members put together Boeing's wide-body planes such as the 747 jumbo and the new 787 Dreamliner.

"The overall contract was nothing but takeaways, nothing but a shell game," said Randy Haviland, a 20-year Boeing veteran who works on aircraft interiors, taking part in the show of force at Everett. "They (management) will have to give, because these people are willing to stay out."

A Boeing spokesman had no comment.