Boeing, striking union to resume contract talks on Friday

By David Shepardson and Allison Lampert

(Reuters) -Boeing and its largest union will resume contract talks on Friday in a bid to end a strike that has throttled plane production and hammered the finances of the aerospace giant, the union and company said on Wednesday.

More than 32,000 Boeing (NYSE:) workers in the Seattle area and Portland, Oregon, walked off the job on Sept. 13 in the union’s first strike since 2008, halting production of airplane models including Boeing’s best-selling 737 MAX.

Negotiators from Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) will meet with federal mediators in a bid to break the deadlock, after two days of previous talks collapsed a week ago.

“The Union is ready for this opportunity to bring forward the issues that members have identified as critical to reaching an agreement,” IAM said in a statement.

“We know that the only way to resolve this strike is through negotiations.”

Boeing confirmed the talks would continue on Friday but had no further comment.

Hours before the strike started, nearly 95% of workers at the IAM rejected Boeing’s initial offer of a 25% pay rise over four years, arguing it did not make up for more than a decade of stagnant wage increases that had lagged inflation.

Boeing made an improved offer on Monday it described as its “best and final”, which would give workers a 30% raise over four years and restored a performance bonus. The union said a survey of its members found that was not enough and has declined to put it to a formal vote.

“The company’s latest offer didn’t meet the needs of our members. That message came through loud and clear in our latest survey,” IAM’s statement said.

The union has been seeking a 40% pay rise and the restoration of a defined-benefit pension that was taken away in the contract a decade ago.