By David Shepardson
(Reuters) – A union representing striking machinists at Boeing said on Friday it is “actively engaged in indirect discussions” with the planemaker facilitated by Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su.
“We are fully engaged in these talks. It is our responsibility to try to reach a resolution,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 751 said in a social media post.
About 33,000 of Boeing’s unionized West Coast workers, most of them in Washington state, have been on strike since Sept. 13, demanding a 40% pay increase over four years and the restoration of workers’ defined benefit pensions. The work stoppage has halted production of the planemaker’s best-selling 737 MAX and its 767 and 777 widebodies.
The talks are the first sign of movement in the more than month-old strike since Boeing on Oct. 8 withdrew its expanded offer that included a 30% pay increase over four years after talks that also included federal mediators broke down. Boeing subsequently filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union.
Boeing declined to comment on Friday.
On Monday, Su was in Seattle for his first personal effort to help secure a new Boeing contract and returned Thursday night to resume efforts after a trip to Detroit.
A spokesman for Su said Friday that the secretary is “currently in Seattle and having discussions with both parties. She has met with the CEO and the union and has been in contact multiple times throughout the process.”
Last Friday, Boeing announced it would cut 17,000 jobs, or 10% of its global workforce, and take $5 billion in pay, continuing a year of tumult for the company since a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 plane suffered an emergency in the air.
Boeing announced a window for up to $25 billion in equity and debt offerings over the next three years on Tuesday, as well as a $10 billion credit facility.
In September, nearly 95% of West Coast workers rejected Boeing’s contract offer of a 25% pay increase over four years, leading to the strike.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Rod Nickel and Diane Craft)