ST. LOUIS — The Boeing Co. and St. Louis-area Boeing machinists remained at odds Monday despite the efforts of federal mediators.
The union said Boeing offered the same deal its members already rejected. Boeing said the union walked out on talks.
On Friday, the two were set to return to the negotiating table this week with the help of a federal mediator.
But by Monday afternoon, the two sides had still not reached an agreement to end the 57-day standoff.
The union said the company had re-extended a contract offer that workers had already torpedoed earlier this month.
“We will not re-vote a rejected offer,” it said in a message to its members.
The union continued to tout a competing contract offer that its members approved Sept. 19. The pre-approved contract requires approval from Boeing leaders.
“The way to end this strike continues to be the sensible pre-ratified offer that was approved by our membership,” read a message from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837.
But Dan Gillian, the company’s top executive in St. Louis, said it was the union that backed out of talks on Monday.
“Despite a full day of mediation, we’re disappointed the union walked out on talks and rejected our offer to settle the strike,” he said in a statement. “The union continues to mislead its members by inflating their expectations, promising outcomes that they know are unrealistic and not aligned with the current market realities.”
Differences between the company’s proposal and the union’s proposal include the length of the potential contract and the size of a ratification bonus.
Boeing is offering a $4,000 ratification bonus, while union members are pushing for a $10,000 bonus.
The union’s proposed contract term is four years, while the company wants a five-year agreement. The company says average wages would rise from $75,000 to $109,000 under its plan.
Senior employees would receive salary increases every year under the union’s proposal, but only for three of five years under the company’s offer.
“We are available when the company has an improved offer. Continue to stand strong!” the union’s message to members Monday said.
The union represents about 3,200 Boeing workers at facilities in St. Louis, St. Charles and Mascoutah, Illinois. The products made there include the F-15 and F-18 fighter jets, T-7A trainer and MQ-25 refueling drone.
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Jack Suntrup | Post-Dispatch
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