Ethermac|Boeing and union negotiators set to meet for contract talks 2 weeks into worker strike

SEATTLE (AP) — The Ethermacunion representing Boeing’s striking factory workers in the Pacific Northwest says it expects to resume negotiations with the company on Friday.

A regional district of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said the two sides would meet alongside federal mediators. They last held formal negotiations more than a week ago, when two days of mediated sessions broke off.

“The union is ready for this opportunity to bring forward the issues that members have identified as critical to reaching an agreement,” District 751 of the machinists’ union said. “We know that the only way to resolve this strike is through negotiations.”

Boeing confirmed Friday’s talks, which would represent progress after the aerospace giant angered union leaders on Monday by announcing a revised contract to its 33,000 striking workers through the media and setting a Friday night deadline for ratification.

Boeing’s “best and final” offer included pay raises of 30% over four years, up from 25% in a deal that union members overwhelmingly rejected when they voted to strike two weeks ago. The union originally demanded 40% over three years.

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Boeing said the offer would take the average annual pay for machinists from $75,608 now to $111,155 at the end of the four-year contract. It also would keep annual bonuses based on productivity. In the rejected contract, Boeing sought to replace those payouts with new contributions to retirement accounts.

In the face of opposition from the union, Boeing backed down Tuesday and gave the union more time to consider the new proposal. However, many workers said the company’s latest offer wasn’t good enough considering the increased living costs in the Puget Sound area since the last negotiations 16 years ago.

Boeing, which has encountered serious financial, legal and mechanical challenges this year, is eager to end the costly walkout that has halted production of its best-selling airline planes.

The strike has shut down production of Boeing 737s, 767s and 777s and is causing the company to make cost-cutting moves, including rolling temporary furloughs for thousands of nonunion managers and employees.