Boeing engineers and technical workers ratified four-year contracts, averting an immediate strike.
Why it matters: The agreements remove a strike threat before Boeing's existing contracts expired on October 6, 2026. Reuters reported SPEEA members work on certification of Boeing's delayed 737-10 and 777-9 programs.
- The Professional Unit approved its contract with 7,895 yes votes and 3,780 no votes, or 67.62% of votes cast.
- The Technical Unit approved its contract with 2,061 yes votes and 1,793 no votes, or 53.48% of votes cast.
- The four-year agreements cover approximately 17,000 Boeing engineers, scientists, designers, analysts, specialists and technicians.
- Ratified terms include a guaranteed 10% wage increase, another 4% in March 2027, and 6% annual wage pools in 2028, 2029 and 2030, with a 4% minimum increase each year.
Members of Boeing's Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, or SPEEA, ratified separate four-year agreements on October 1, 2026, before the existing contracts expired on October 6, 2026. SPEEA announced the ratification.
The Professional Unit, which primarily covers engineers and scientists, approved its agreement with 7,895 yes votes and 3,780 no votes. The Technical Unit, covering designers, analysts, specialists and technicians, approved its agreement with 2,061 yes votes and 1,793 no votes. The percentages - 67.62% and 53.48% - represent votes cast in each unit, not the share of all represented workers.
The ratified agreements adopted a guaranteed 10% wage increase, followed by another guaranteed 4% increase in March 2027. They also establish 6% annual wage pools in 2028, 2029 and 2030, with a guaranteed minimum increase of 4% for employees in each of those years, according to Boeing's summary of its final offer.
The agreements also include provisions on virtual work, changes to overtime limits for Professional Unit members, and enhanced health-care and retirement benefits retained from the prior offer. Reuters reported that SPEEA members are involved in work important to certifying Boeing's delayed 737-10 and 777-9 programs. Reuters reported on the negotiations.
The agreement followed SPEEA's rejection of Boeing's initial offer and a strike-authorization vote in August. The union's negotiation team said: "With both units voting to accept the offer, we have a new agreement, but our work is not done."
By the numbers
- 17,000 - approximate number of Boeing workers covered
- 10% - guaranteed initial wage increase
- 6% - annual wage pools for 2028, 2029 and 2030, subject to a 4% minimum increase
Yes, but: The Technical Unit's approval was narrower: 53.48% of votes cast, compared with 67.62% for the Professional Unit. The union's negotiation team said its work was not done, without specifying further action in the announcement.
What's next: The next scheduled guaranteed wage increase is 4% in March 2027, followed by annual wage pools in 2028, 2029 and 2030.