Spirit AeroSystems and union reach tentative deal, creating path to end US strike

5:31 pm Tuesday, June 27th, 2023

By Valerie Insinna

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Spirit AeroSystems and its machinists union reached a tentative contract agreement on Tuesday, with about 6,000 workers set to vote Thursday on whether to end a strike at the company’s plant in Wichita, Kansas.

The four-year contract includes wage increases of at least 23.5% over the life of the deal, guaranteed annual bonuses and a yearly cost of living adjustment, and a $3,000 signing bonus if the contract is accepted by Thursday, Spirit said in a statement.

If passed by a simple majority, employees represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) would end the strike and return to work on July 5, the union said.

On Monday, Spirit presented a new contract offer after what the Boeing and Airbus supplier said were “positive discussions”.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) urged its workforce to ratify the new contract, stating it “addresses our members’ concerns with substantial wage increases, maintaining the CORE healthcare plan benefits that the membership insisted on, and includes no mandatory overtime.”

Spirit shares closed up at 1.95%.

“We listened closely and worked hard in our talks over the last several days to further understand and address the priorities of our IAM-represented employees,” said Spirit AeroSystems CEO Tom Gentile. “We believe this new offer is fair and competitive and recognizes the contributions of our employees covered under this proposed agreement.”

Union workers at the Wichita site, which builds the entire fuselage for Boeing’s 737 MAX narrowbody jet and the forward sections for most of its other aircraft, as well as pylons for the Airbus A220, on June 21 rejected a proposed four-year contract and voted to strike.

Spirit AeroSystems announced on Thursday that it would shut down operations at the site ahead of the strike, which began Saturday.

(Reporting by Valerie Insinna; Editing by Conor Humphries and Lisa Shumaker)