By Dan Catchpole
SEATTLE, Aug 28 (Reuters) – Negotiators from Boeing and its largest white-collar union plan to meet Monday to resume contract discussions, a spokesman for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees Association (SPEEA) said.
SPEEA’s roughly 17,000 members overwhelmingly rejected Boeing’s contract offer last week.
Union members, which include engineers and technical workers, said in a survey by SPEEA this week that they want larger and immediate guaranteed wage increases from Boeing.
The second priority, according to survey results shared by SPEEA, is more money for annual performance-based raises. Better annual cost-of-living adjustments were the third-highest priority, according to the nearly 13,000 union members who took the survey.
“We want to reach an agreement before the current contract expires and look forward to finding a solution with SPEEA at the bargaining table,” a Boeing spokesman told Reuters.
The company declined to comment further.
The planemaker posted contractor jobs on Tuesday, apparently in preparation for a strike after the current contract expires on Oct. 6.
SPEEA members perform critical work in Boeing’s push to certify its 737 MAX 10 and 777-9, both of which are several years behind schedule. A work stoppage would further delay the two aircraft from entering service with airlines waiting for delivery.
(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in SeattleEditing by Nick Zieminski and Chizu Nomiyama )
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