A P-8 maritime patrol aircraft undergoes assembly at Boeing’s Renton production line. Future E-7s, based on the 737 NG, will be slotted into this line for assembly. (Michael Marrow/Breaking Defense)

WASHINGTON — Boeing’s Seattle-area machinists union voted on Monday evening to end a seven week strike and accept a new contract with the planemaker, a move that will allow the company to restart production of commercial derivative military planes like the KC-46 tanker and P-8 Poseidon.

Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which represents about 33,000 Boeing workers mostly in Washington state and Oregon, voted in a 59 percent majority to end the strike and will return to work on Nov. 6.

Union workers first rejected a previous contract and voted to strike on Sept. 13. 

“While the past few months have been difficult for all of us, we are all part of the same team,” said Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a statement. “We will only move forward by listening and working together. There is much work ahead to return to the excellence that made Boeing an iconic company.”

IAM 751 President Jon Holden said the strike allowed Boeing workers to “rebalanc[e] the scales” with a contract that provides improved wages and a better quality of life.

“This contract also creates a new foundation to build on for the future and that future begins today,” he said in a statement. “We are ready to help Boeing change direction and return to building the highest quality and safest airplanes in the world. Our members are critical to that mission, and now have a stronger voice in the decision making process to ensure those needed improvements are made.”

The strike had immediate financial consequences for Boeing, halting production of its 737, 767 and 777 jetliners and impacting military derivatives of those aircraft, which include the 737-based P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and the the 767-based KC-46 tanker. Boeing also acknowledged it could see impacts to the Air Force’s program to build E-7 Wedgetail prototypes due to the strike.

The company recognized $6 billion in losses in the third quarter, including $2 billion on defense programs, which it partially attributed to the work stoppage.  

At the onset of the strike, Boeing said it was “working with our suppliers and customers to ensure continuity to the extent we can” on the P-8 and E-7 Wedgetail programs, and that it had fulfilled its commitment to the US Air Force to deliver at least 15 KC-46 tankers during fiscal 2024, which ended on Sept. 30. 

During an earnings call with investors in October, Ortberg said that coming to a contract agreement with the union and ending the strike was the first step necessary for moving the company forward. 

“I met with the union leadership the first week on the job and let them know that I was committed to resetting the relationship. And I remain committed to getting the team back and improving our relationship, so we don’t become so disconnected in the future,” he said on Oct. 23, hours before the union would vote to reject an earlier contract proposal. 

However, as the strike continued on, Boeing leaders showed signs of frustration with the impasse. During a Nov. 1 interview with The Seattle Times, Holden said Ortberg told union leadership that, should the union reject the company’s latest offer, the next proposal would contain less generous terms.

Under the agreed-upon contract, machinists would earn a 38 percent general wage increase over the next four years, $12,000 in bonuses, the reinstatement of the company’s incentive plan, and additional contributions to 401(k) plans. As part of the deal, Boeing also agreed to build its next commercial aircraft in the Puget Sound region, should the company launch a new program during the contract’s duration. 

The deal is an improvement from the original Sept. 8 contract proposal, which offered a 25 percent wage increase, as well as the latest Oct. 19 proposal, which offered a 35 percent increase.

However, it still falls slightly short of the 40 percent wage increase originally demanded by the union, and although the offer includes higher bonuses and improvements to benefits, Boeing has refused the union’s continued demands to reinstate the company’s legacy pension program, which was phased out 2014.

IAM 751 recommended that members accept the contract proposal, calling for the union “to lock in these gains and confidently declare victory” in an Oct. 31 post on its website.

“In every negotiation and strike, there is a point where we have extracted everything that we can in bargaining and by withholding our labor. We are at that point now and risk a regressive or lesser offer in the future,” the union stated.

In a Nov. 1 message to employees, Ortberg said, “It’s time we all come back together and focus on rebuilding the business and delivering the world’s best airplanes. There are a lot of people depending on us.”