Published Thursday, October 1, 2026 in the Everett Herald
Boeing Union Accepts Latest Contract Offers and Avoids Strike
By Jenna Millikan
After a week of voting, Boeing’s engineering and technician union voted to approve Boeing’s latest contract offers Thursday, which will go into effect Oct. 7.
This comes after members rejected the initial contract offers and approved a strike authorization measure. Voting on the second offers came to an end at noon Thursday, with 67.62% of the professional unit and 53.48% of the technical unit voting to approve the four-year contracts, according to the Society of Professional Engineering Employees website.
"We secured many victories that some thought were completely out of reach when this negotiation cycle started," the negotiations team said in a statement to members. "All of these gains would not have been possible without your individual actions and our collective strength."
The union's negotiating team began contract talks with Boeing representatives in July. On Aug. 21, members of the bargaining units voted against the aerospace company's initial proposed offers despite the negotiations team’s unanimous endorsement.
At the time, union representatives said that despite Boeing executives appearing sincere and solution-focused, "the membership has made clear that the current offer falls short."
Boeing issued a statement Thursday, October 1, after the results were announced.
"We’re pleased with the outcome of the vote," said Ben Nimmergut, vice president and functional chief engineer for production engineering for Boeing. "We look forward to working with our team to support our company's continued recovery and meeting our customer commitments now and into the future."
The professional unit, representing nearly 13,000 engineers and scientists, and technical unit, representing around 4,000 analysts, designers, technicians and other specialists, consist of workers at Boeing sites in Washington, Oregon, California and Utah. Around half the workers in the professional and technical bargaining units work in Everett.
Boeing’s initial offer included aggregate wage pool increases of 29.4% over four years, the largest wage-pool increase for union members since 1983. The company also proposed three extra days of paid leave per year, lower limits on mandatory overtime and more virtual work opportunities.
Boeing proposed biannual meetings for the union and senior executives to discuss future work deployment and a joint labor-management committee on the use of Artificial Intelligence.
Of the professional unit, 64.3% voted against the initial proposed contract. Of the technical unit, 71.9% voted no. Ninety-two percent of eligible union members voted in August, with 87.8% of the professional unit and 89.7% of the technical unit voting in favor of the strike authorization. A strike could not have taken place until after the current contracts expire on Oct. 6.
Union representatives returned to the bargaining table Sept. 8 before receiving Boeing’s new offers three days later.
The contracts will raise the professional unit's average base salary from $152,000 to $208,000 and the technical unit’s base salary from $119,000 to $163,000. Compared to the initial offer, this is an increase of $11,000 and $8,000, respectively.
Alongside a 10% wage increase for the pay period beginning Friday, another 4% increase would come in March 2027.
Additionally, under the new contracts, 6% wage pool increases will come in 2028, 2029 and 2030, with 4% raises guaranteed and the remaining 2% in selective funds awarded each year at management’s discretion, said the union's spokesperson Bryan Corliss in an email Sept. 21. The offer provides pay increases of 34% not compounded over four years, including funds for promotions and out-of-sequence raises.
The new offers also includes revised language on the company’s work-from-home policy, overtime limits for professional unit members and a new process for communicating future workforce needs to help union members plan their Boeing careers.
Contract improvements such as enhanced healthcare and retirement benefits, two additional vacation days, one new floating holiday and three bereavement days remained the same as in the initial offer.
Of the professional unit, 7,895 voted to accept, and 3,780 voted to reject, Thursday’s notice said. In the technical unit, 2,061 voted to accept and 1,793 to reject.
In the negotiation team statement, they said the work is not done despite reaching a new agreement.
"We need to work with Boeing, and as needed, pressure Boeing management through joint committees, forums and conversations within your groups, to rebuild an environment suitable for reestablishing trust with the membership that has eroded over the past decades," the team wrote. "Without trust, Boeing and SPEEA will likely find ourselves right back where we were when we started this contract negotiation cycle."
https://www.heraldnet.com/2026/10/01/boeing-union-accepts-latest-contract-offers-and-avoids-strike/