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By Global News Service
On September 13, around 32,000 Boeing workers walked out on strike in the Seattle area after 95 percent voted to reject a contract deal with the company and 96 percent voted to strike. This is the first strike at Boeing since 2008.
Aerospace giant Boeing has received heavy public criticism due to rampant quality control issues that have resulted in continued investigations and legal action, not to mention two crashes of 737 MAX jets in 2018 and 2019 that left 346 people dead. Even more public suspicion has been raised following the deaths of two whistleblowers who raised concerns about safety, which led to speculation of foul play.
Workers claim that many of the safety issues result from Boeing caring more about fast production and stock prices than quality, as highlighted by a set of interviews conducted by More Perfect Union with workers and leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
“The wages that they pay are comparable with McDonald’s,” said Kristi Kidrick, a Boeing assembly installer. “There is a big turnover rate. And so a lot of people won’t stay there very long to gain the knowledge and the skillset,” both of which are requirements for building safe, quality airplanes.
Workers rejected the contract deal that was negotiated between Boeing and IAM. The proposed deal contained wage increases of 25 percent, far lower than the 40 percent wage hike that workers had demanded.
from the Peoples Dispatch / Globetrotter News Service
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