Union and company officials praised the deal. Mark Blondin, president of International Association of Machinists District 751, said Boeing withdrew “every one of their takeaway proposals.” Alan Mulally, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said, “The total cost to Boeing is similar to the previous contract offer,” which included higher health-care costs for workers, no retirement health coverage for new hires, a 10 percent boost in pension benefits, and a 2.5 percent wage raise.

In the days before the walkout, Boeing appealed to recently rehired workers to vote against striking by offering large one-time bonuses. Boeing’s strategy to divide the workforce misfired badly when 86 percent of Machinists voted to strike on September 1. Strikers across generations said the vote strengthened the union position. They also pointed to the large number of unfilled orders for Boeing commercial airplanes.

Some workers were not satisfied with the agreement. “I believe that if the contract was rejected, Boeing would be pressured by airline orders to do better by us. On top of my list is a general wage increase,” Brad Lee, who has worked at Boeing for 25 years, told the Militant the day of the contract vote.

Solidarity with the walkout was beginning to pick up steam in the closing weeks of the strike. Workers from several unions in the Puget Sound region joined the picket lines. Workers on strike against Boeing in Australia also visited picket lines here.  
 
 
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