Boeing Engineers Approve Contract With 10% Raises, Averting Strike

Boeing's engineers and technical workers ratified a four-year contract carrying an immediate 10% wage increase, averting a strike that could have hit the aerospace giant at the worst possible moment.

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), which represents roughly 13,000 Boeing engineers and 4,000 technical workers, announced the result. "We secured many victories that some thought were completely out of reach when this negotiation cycle started," the union said in a statement.

The vote split sharply between the two bargaining units. The professional unit, which includes the engineers, approved the contract with 67.62% in favor. The tech unit passed it far more narrowly, at 53.48%.

The margin matters. These work groups form Boeing's largest white-collar union, and they overwhelmingly rejected an earlier company offer that carried 3% annual raises. Boeing returned in mid-September with a sweetened proposal after that rejection.

The final deal stacks compensation on multiple layers. Workers get the 10% ratification wage increase up front, then annual raises of 4% across the four-year term, plus merit increases of up to 6%.

Why Boeing Needed This Deal

The ratification removes a labor threat just as Boeing pursues two critical objectives: stabilizing and increasing production of its fast-selling jets, and winning federal approval for two aircraft programs that run years behind schedule — the 737 Max 10 and the 777X.

A walkout would have echoed a recent and painful precedent. A machinist strike two years ago halted Boeing production entirely until the two sides reached a deal.

The certification timeline carries its own pressure. On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration said it is assessing whether a software issue on the 737 Max 10 — which could affect landing procedures in certain scenarios — poses a safety-of-flight issue. A labor standoff layered on top of an active FAA review would have compounded the risk to a program already far past its original schedule.

The near-even tech unit vote signals residual discontent within a segment of the workforce. But with the contract locked in for four years, Boeing's management can now point investors and regulators to labor stability on the white-collar side while it works to clear the 737 Max 10 and 777X through certification and push narrowbody output higher.