Boeing workers reject union deal, strike extended

Investing.com– Boeing (NYSE:BA) workers that went on strike in September voted against a tentative deal with the company on Wednesday, the planemaker’s largest union said, indicating that a six-week strike was now set to continue. 

Factory workers in Washington rejected a deal that would have given them 35% pay increases over the next four years, with about 64% of workers voting against the deal. The union had asked for a 40% pay increase over the next three years. 

A major sticking point was also the company’s refusal to reinstate a pension plan that was removed about a decade ago. 

More than 30,000 Boeing workers in Washington went on strike last month, calling for better pay and benefits in the planemaker’s biggest strike since 2008. 

The planemaker has been steadily hemorrhaging cash due to the strike, and logged an over $6 billion loss in the September quarter due to setbacks from the strike.

An extended strike presents more headwinds for Boeing, which has been grappling with increased regulatory scrutiny after a door blew off an Alaskan Airlines flight earlier this year.