Oct. 9 (UPI) — Negotiations between airplane maker Boeing and its union broke down this week with both sides pointing the finger at the other for their current standoff with a strike that is approaching one month.
Boeing argued that the company improved its deal since the strike started on Sept. 13 but the union continued to hold onto demands it could not accept. Boeing said it withdrew its last offer and that further talk at this time seemed pointless.
“Instead, the union made non-negotiable demands far in excess of what can be accepted if we are to remain competitive as a business,” Stephanie Pope, CEO of Boeing’s commercial aircraft unit said, according to CNBC.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said it was Boeing that was refusing to budge on a range of issues from wages, retirement plans, vacation and sick leave.
The strike is costing Boeing about $1 billion per month with shuttered union plants along with a ding on its credit outlook from S&P Global.
The union rank-and-file last month rejected a tentative agreement hammered out by Boeing and the union negotiators last month just before the strike. That deal included 25% pay raises over the next four years.
Boeing said its new deal, which was released publicly, would have given union members a 12% pay hike immediately and 30% over four years. The union said those terms were not negotiated and unacceptable to members as well.
The union said it has even up plenty in past negotiations, such as is traditional pension play in 2014 and other concessions, and it is determined to stand pat this time.
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