Union votes on contract offer for Boeing 777X airplane

Associated Press

SEATTLE

Boeing machinists were deciding Friday whether to accept a contract that would concede some pension and health care benefits to secure assembly of the company’s new 777X airplane in Washington state.

The offer has fractured the union and drawn unusual pleas from politicians who say the deal is necessary to support the Puget Sound region’s economic future. Boeing has been exploring the prospect of building the 777X elsewhere, a move that could trigger a steady exodus of aerospace jobs from a region where Boeing was founded.

Local union officials, meanwhile, urged their 30,000 members to oppose the deal, arguing that the proposal surrenders too much at a time of company profitability. They have opposed taking a vote at all but were overruled by national leaders in the Machinists union.

Voting was scheduled for 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST Friday. Results were expected to be announced after midnight Eastern time.

Boeing Co. began offering the 777X in May, and company officials have said they need to move swiftly to decide where the plane will be built.

Production of Boeing’s 777X likely would bring thousands of well-paying jobs to whatever region wins the work.