An employee works in the cockpit of a Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft on the production line at Boeing's 737 factory in Renton, Washington, November 18, 2021.
Jason Redmond | Reuters
BoeingThe more than 32,000 machinists who were on strike must return to their factories by Tuesday, but it will take weeks to get the factories working again, the manufacturer said.
Boeing machinists last week approved a new contract that included a 38% pay increase over four years and other improvements, ending a more than seven-week strike that halted production of most of Boeing's aircraft production. They left their jobs for the first time on September 13, rejecting a proposal for a 25% pay increase.
The company said Tuesday it transferred 14 jets in October, the fewest since November 2020, during the depths of the pandemic and the end of the global grounding of Boeing's 737 Max after two fatal crashes. Nine of the deliveries last month were 737 Maxes. A spokesperson said employees not affected by the strike were carrying out delivery procedures.
As workers return, Boeing must assess potential hazards, reframe operator duties and safety requirements and ensure all training qualifications are current, a spokesperson said.
“It's a lot harder to turn this on than it is to turn it off,” CEO Kelly Ortberg said last month on the company's quarterly earnings call. “So it's absolutely critical that we get this right.”
The company is resuming production in Washington state and Oregon for the 737 Max, 767 and 777 programs, as well as military versions of its aircraft. Production of Boeing's 787 Dreamliners continued during the strike because the planes are made at a non-union factory in South Carolina.
Despite the strike pause, Boeing continued to sell dozens of planes in October, with 63 gross orders, two fewer than September's total. Forty of these are 737 Max 8s for the Avia Solutions Group. It also handed over 10 787 Dreamliners to LATAM Airlines.
