The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Boeing factory workers voted to accept a contract offer, ending their seven-week strike and allowing the company to resume production of its best-selling airliner. An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe reports that leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district in Seattle said 59 per cent of members who cast ballots agreed to approve the company's fourth formal offer and the third put to a vote. The deal includes a 38-per-cent wage increase over four years, and ratification and productivity bonuses.
However, Boeing refused to meet strikers' demand to restore a company pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago. The contract's ratification on the eve of election day cleared the way for a major U.S. manufacturer and government contractor to restart Pacific Northwest assembly lines that the walkout idled for 53 days. Bank of America analysts estimated last month that Boeing was losing about $50-million (U.S.) a day during the now-ended strike, which did not affect a non-union plant in South Carolina where the company makes 787s. Chief executive officer Kelly Ortberg said he was pleased to have reached an agreement.
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