Boeing and SPEEA to resume contract talks ahead of possible October strike

Boeing and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace will return to the bargaining table on 31 August. SPEEA represents roughly 17,000 of the company's engineers, technicians and other professional staff in the Pacific Northwest.

The union announced the planned session on 28 August, saying the two sides would discuss next steps. Boeing confirmed the meeting. The company said it wants an agreement in place before the current contract lapses and looks forward to working with SPEEA toward a resolution.

Talks had broken down after union members voted down a contract offer that included a 28.5% wage increase. Union negotiators had recommended approval, but members rejected it anyway. SPEEA said a member survey identified immediate and substantial guaranteed pay raises as the top priority heading back into negotiations, though it did not detail specific new demands.

The union's membership splits into two groups: about 13,000 engineers and scientists in a professional unit, and around 4,000 technicians, analysts and planners in a technical unit. Both groups' current contracts run out after 6 October. According to Boeing, workers could walk out starting 7 October if no new agreement is reached by then.

Boeing had described its earlier proposal as putting SPEEA members among industry leaders in pay and benefits. The union's leadership echoed that language when it initially endorsed the offer, before members voted it down.