The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that Boeing said on Sunday it had reached an agreement with the union representing its Seattle workers, bringing weeks of negotiations to a close. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says the proposed four-year agreement, which includes a general wage increase of 25 per cent and a commitment to build the next commercial airplane in the Seattle area, is an early win for newly installed Boeing chief executive officer Kelly Ortberg. The deal also includes 12 weeks of paid parental leave, improved job security, enhanced retirement benefits and other benefits. It would need to be approved on Thursday by Boeing factory workers near Seattle and Portland, Ore., represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). An accepted deal would secure labour peace for Boeing at a time when it is burning cash and trying to raise production of its strongest-selling 737 Max to a target rate of 38 aircraft a month by the year's end. Boeing is wrestling with a quality crisis and faces scrutiny from regulators and customers. It also avoids a strike that could have made Boeing a focus point in the 2024 U.S. election. The union had asked for a 40-per-cent raise.