HAZELWOOD, Mo. — Some 3,200 members of International Association of Machinists Local 837 have been on strike for three months at Boeing’s military aircraft and munitions plants in the St. Louis area.
On Oct. 26 they voted down the company’s latest contract proposal by 51% to 49%. The company said it had no intention of considering the union’s counterproposal.
One key issue, several workers explained, is the length of time it takes new hires to reach full pay, often well over 10 years.
Many workers said they want a signing bonus closer to the $12,000 that IAM members at Boeing in Seattle got after their strike last year. The company is offering $4,000.
“We’re fighting for respect,” Yasmine Greene, a shop steward and assembler with 17 years at Boeing, told the Militant at the union hall here Nov. 3. “The company is making money, but they don’t want to give us anything.
“I’m proud of us for standing up, and of other unions supporting us,” Greene added. She said they’ve gotten donations and support on the picket lines from the United Auto Workers, United Steelworkers, United Food and Commercial Workers and many other unions, as well as from churches and other organizations.
“The biggest thing for people like me, at the top of the pay scale, is getting a wage increase instead of a lump-sum bonus,” Terry Hayes said on the picket line at the St. Charles plant Nov. 4.
To visit the picket line or bring donations, go to the IAM Local 837 union hall, 212 Utz Lane, Hazelwood, Mo. 63042.