Boeing’s Fighter Jet Plants At Risk Of Strike If Union Rejects Modified Labor Deal 

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 837, representing 3,200 Boeing defense workers across Missouri and Illinois and affiliated with the AFL–CIO/CLC, is scheduled to vote Sunday morning on Boeing’s revised labor contract offer. The two sides remain in a federally mandated “cooling-off” period. If union members reject the offer, a strike will begin as early as Monday, potentially disrupting fighter jet production. 

IAM 837 stated that Boeing delivered a revised 4-year contract to 3,200 St. Louis-area factory workers after their earlier rejection and vote to strike. 

The revised contract states: 

• 20% wage increase (same as rejected offer), raising average pay from $75,000 to $102,600.

• $5,000 ratification bonus, but only if the deal is approved by 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 3, or the bonus is off the table.

• Dropped controversial schedule changes (like 3×12 shifts for 4-day weekends) that would’ve reduced overtime pay.

• Improved 401(k): Full company match increases paid upfront, not phased in over three years.

Last Sunday, hours after IAM 837 members rejected the contract, Boeing released a statement, saying its labor negotiators were “disappointed” with the union that “voted down the richest contract offer we’ve ever presented to IAM 837, which addressed all their stated priorities.”

Boeing and the union are in a seven-day “cooling-off” period. If the revised labor contract is rejected on Sunday, then this could spark disruptions to the production of key military aircraft and drones, including F-15, F/A-18, T-7A, and MQ-25. 

The last time St. Louis workers went on strike was in 1996, and they don’t have a long history of labor activism, unlike Boeing’s unions in the Pacific Northwest, noted Melius Research analyst Scott Mikus.

As we asked earlier this week…

One must ask whether foreign adversaries, as part of their hybrid warfare campaign to implode the US from within, have exploited this union in an attempt to strike a critical node in America’s defense manufacturing hub.

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