Boeing posts contract jobs in labor dispute's latest escalation

By Dan Catchpole

SEATTLE, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Boeing posted contractor positions for engineering and technical roles on job sites on Tuesday, in what appears to be the latest escalation in its labor dispute with its white-collar union at its commercial airplane division.

After members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace overwhelmingly rejected Boeing's contract offer on Friday, the company said it would begin implementing a contingency plan in case of a strike after the current contract ends on October 6.

A strike by SPEEA's 17,000 members could further delay certification of Boeing's 737 MAX 10 and 777-9, both of which are already years behind schedule. 

The certification delays have kept two of Boeing's most important new commercial jets from entering airline service, and a work stoppage by the engineers and technical workers responsible for that effort would be a blow to a company still recovering from quality and safety problems that followed a mid-air accident on a nearly new 737 MAX in January 2024.

SPEEA is "hopeful" that the planemaker and its members can agree to a new four-year contract while avoiding a strike, union spokesman Bryan Corliss said. 

"It appears, however, that both sides are preparing for the possibility of a strike," he said. "In our case, that includes preparing information for our members on what they could expect should there be a work stoppage. For its part, Boeing seems to be looking for 17,000 individuals who don't care if they undercut worker solidarity."

Boeing declined to comment on the contract job postings. 

"We want to reach an agreement before the current contract expires and look forward to finding a solution with SPEEA at the table. To protect business continuity and support our customers, we’re implementing our contingency planning which will leverage a wide range of qualified resources with a continued emphasis on safety and quality," a company spokesperson told Reuters.

Boeing's last two major union contract negotiations ended in extended strikes  — a seven-week walkout by roughly 33,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) at Boeing's commercial airplanes division in 2024 and a 101-day strike by about 3,200 IAM members at Boeing's defense division in 2025.

Bringing in thousands of contractors could set back progress Boeing has made addressing widespread quality and safety problems in its commercial aircraft production programs after the 737 MAX accident, Corliss said. 

(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)