After a month of stalemate, American aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing announced on Thursday that it has filed unfair labor practices charges against the union representing its West Coast factory workers with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing union leaders of not sincerely negotiating with the company.
On Tuesday of this week, Boeing announced that after two days of negotiations with federal mediators in the United States, it has withdrawn its salary proposal to the International Association of Mechanical and Aerospace Workers, which organized the strike, due to the union's refusal to seriously consider the agreement.
In a document submitted to the National Labor Relations Commission, Boeing accused union leaders of intentionally distorting Boeing's agreement terms and preventing worker negotiators from sitting at the negotiating table to facilitate negotiations.
This is already the fifth week of the Boeing employee strike, and Boeing's accusation of labor unions to US authorities marks a tragic sign of the company's deepening labor conflict. The deadlock has led to significant financial challenges for Boeing, which is already struggling, while also disrupting the normal operation of the global aviation supply chain.
Deadlocked
The International Association of Machinists and Aviation Workers stated on Tuesday that Boeing insists that the old plan it offered at the beginning of last month's strike is the best and final solution, which is a 30% pay raise over four years. But the union refused to submit this plan to the union for a vote.
Subsequently, Boeing pointed out that the union later acknowledged that Boeing had made some improvements in the new plan, but the improvements were negligible. The union has been seeking a 40% salary increase and the restoration of the fixed welfare pension that was abolished in 2014.
Previously, the union had already submitted allegations of unfair labor practices by Boeing to the US government, but the allegations have not yet been resolved. Boeing pointed out that it had to take legal measures to respond to the union and ensure that all parties could accurately understand the facts that had occurred in the past few weeks.
US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg made a serious statement on Thursday morning that resolving the Boeing strike is becoming increasingly important. Supporting workers and supporting enterprises are not optional, they can definitely be achieved simultaneously.
Since the strike, Boeing and the union negotiation committee have held three mediation meetings, but both sides have stated that these meetings have not made any meaningful progress.
On Wednesday, thirty members of Congress in the United States urged both sides to reach an agreement as soon as possible to calm the chaotic situation in the aviation market. The Boeing strike has also been described as an economic hurricane that could disrupt labor market data in the United States.