SEATTLE, July 30 - Boeing has submitted a proposed labor agreement to the union representing roughly 17,000 engineers and technical staff in its commercial airplane business, the company said on Thursday.
The negotiating team for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) posted on the union's website that it has endorsed the offer. Specific contractual terms were not released immediately.
Negotiators' assessment
In its statement, the SPEEA negotiating team said the proposal "offers real and meaningful value to the membership, delivers real positive change to work/life balance and delivers on the membership’s priorities." Union officials representing both the engineers and the technicians bargaining units will now examine the written terms and are expected to make a recommendation to members next week.
Timing and potential disruption
The current SPEEA agreement is due to expire on October 6. The union review and subsequent member vote will occur against that timeline.
Company and union officials note that a work stoppage could affect engineering-intensive certification efforts. A strike by SPEEA members could further postpone certification campaigns for Boeing's 737 MAX 10 - the largest member of its single-aisle family - and the 777-9, the company's biggest jetliner. The article notes Boeing's certification work is already years behind schedule and emphasized the engineering-heavy nature of those campaigns.
Context on recent bargaining history
Boeing has engaged in three major union contract negotiations in as many years. The two most recent large negotiations, which covered the planemaker's commercial aircraft workers and a separate unit of defense workers and were represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, ended after extended strikes.
Separately, in January Boeing reached a contract with about 1,600 SPEEA members at the former Spirit AeroSystems operation in Wichita, Kansas. That agreement included a $6,000 ratification bonus, annual wage increases, enhancements to medical and retirement plans, and an additional six paid days off per year.
What happens next
Union officials will complete their review and provide a recommendation to membership next week. The degree to which members accept or reject the recommendation will determine whether the offer becomes a ratified contract ahead of the October 6 expiration.