More than 3,200 striking defense workers at Boeing facilities in Missouri and Illinois are preparing to vote on a four-year contract proposal put forward by their union, calling it a “serious path toward strike settlement”.
In a statement released on September 16, 2025, members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 837 announced that the union is taking “bold, creative steps” to end the six-week strike action in the St. Louis area.
The union has presented a proposal created by employees which will be put to the vote on September 19, 2025. The move comes after the union rejected the company’s most recent contract offer on September 12, 2025, extending a strike that has now entered its seventh week.
The union-proposed contract aligns 401(k) contributions with those of other Boeing employees, provides more fair wage increases for top-of-scale members, and includes a compromise on ratification bonuses like those offered to other union and non-union workers at Boeing.
If IAM Union members ratify the offer, it will be submitted to the company as a pre-ratified agreement subject to Boeing’s acceptance. If Boeing declines the IAM’s offer, the union said members will remain on strike until Boeing accepts the offer.
“Boeing needs to recognize that this workforce is the backbone of its defense operations, and the community is standing with these families until they achieve a fair contract,” said IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President, Sam Cicinelli.
Boeing calls union vote a “publicity stunt”
Dan Gillian, the Vice President of Boeing Air Dominance and Senior Executive at the St. Louis site, referred to the union’s proposal to vote on a contract that the company has never offered as a “publicity stunt that’s a waste of time,” stating that it won’t help resolve the strike.
“My main objective is to bring all of you back to work within the economic framework of the deal the union has twice endorsed,” Gillian said. “The union’s approach creates false expectations and will only prolong the strike for all of you who’ve already lost an average of $15,000 in income.”
The IAM union stated that Boeing has not met the priorities of its St. Louis workers in negotiations “despite strong quarterly earnings and a growing backlog of military aircraft orders”.
However, Boeing said that the overall economics of its last proposal, which included a total compensation increase of about 45% over five years, will not change.
The strike has already disrupted critical defense production and is estimated to have cost the company millions of dollars each day in lost output and delayed deliveries. The affected facilities manufacture F-15 and F/A-18 fighter jets, the new T-7A Red Hawk trainer, and other weapon systems for the US military. Nevertheless, both sides have expressed a willingness to continue negotiations.
