Boeing, SPEEA Reach Tentative Four-Year Labor Deal

Boeing and its engineering union reached a tentative four-year contract agreement on Friday, potentially avoiding a strike involving roughly 17,000 aerospace engineers and technical workers.

The new proposal follows the overwhelming rejection of Boeing’s initial offer by members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) on August 21. Higher general wage increases emerged as workers’ main priority following that vote.

Under the tentative Boeing-SPEEA contract, members of the union’s professional and technical units would receive a 10% general wage increase on October 16. Additional 4% raises, along with merit-based increases, would follow annually from 2027 through 2030.

Boeing Vice President and Functional Chief Engineer for Production Engineering Ben Nimmergut said the revised offer addresses employees’ leading concerns, including an immediate pay increase and larger guaranteed wage pools.

The agreement also includes changes to work-from-home policies and overtime limits affecting members of SPEEA’s professional unit.

SPEEA’s negotiating team said feedback from members following the first contract rejection shaped subsequent talks with Boeing executives. While acknowledging the agreement does not contain everything the union sought, negotiators described it as meaningful progress toward improving compensation, working conditions and relations between employees and Boeing management.

The current labor contract expires October 6. SPEEA members could strike if a new agreement is not finalized before the expiration date.

A potential work stoppage could create additional challenges for Boeing because SPEEA members play important roles in the certification of the 737 MAX 10 and 777-9 aircraft, two programs already running years behind schedule.

Boeing’s previous proposal offered 3% general wage increases. Some union members argued those increases could leave salaries trailing inflation. Consumer prices in the Seattle area, where most SPEEA members work, increased 4.5% over the previous year, according to July data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

SPEEA has not negotiated an entirely new contract covering its Northwest members with Boeing since 2012. Workers instead approved contract extensions in 2016 and 2020.