Boeing Workers Who Make Fighter Jets to Go on Strike

Boeing employees involved in the manufacture of fighter jet aircraft will go on strike at midnight on Monday as a labor dispute between employees and the aeronautics giant remains unresolved.

The dispute involves 3,200 unionized members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) employed by Boeing facilities in St. Louis and St. Charles, Missouri, and Mascoutah, Illinois.

On Aug. 3, IAM members at these facilities voted down a four-year labor agreement with Boeing, the union said.

“IAM District 837 members build the aircraft and defense systems that keep our country safe,” Sam Cicinelli, Midwest territory general vice president for IAM, said in a statement. “They deserve nothing less than a contract that keeps their families secure and recognizes their unmatched expertise.”

It’s the second time that the employees have rejected a deal from the company in the past week.

Last week, members voted down a proposal from Boeing that would have seen their wages grow by 20 percent over four years.

IAM leadership encouraged adoption of the agreement, praising its improvements to employees’ medical, pension, and overtime benefits. However, the union reported that employees had overwhelmingly opposed the proposal.

Though the contract was set to expire on July 27, the union offered a “cooling off” period to delay the strike by a week, pushing it to begin at 12:01 a.m. ET on Aug. 4.

The revised offer from Boeing doubled the salary increase from 20 percent to a 40 percent increase over four years.

Executives for the company said they were disappointed by the outcome but said that they were prepared with a contingency plan to handle the strike.

“We’re disappointed our employees rejected an offer that featured 40 percent average wage growth and resolved their primary issue on alternative work schedules,” said Dan Gillian, Boeing Air Dominance vice president and general manager, and senior executive of the company’s St. Louis site.

“We are prepared for a strike and have fully implemented our contingency plan to ensure our non-striking workforce can continue supporting our customers,” Gillian added.

It’s unclear why the members rejected the latest offer. The union only said that it “fell short of addressing the priorities and sacrifices” of their workers.

The company has struggled financially since high-profile crashes involving the company’s planes raised questions about Boeing’s safety and quality assurance standards.

Two Boeing 737 Max airplanes have been involved in crashes, including a 2018 crash in Indonesia and a 2019 crash in Ethiopia. The two crashes killed 346 people. In January 2024, a Boeing 737-9 was involved in an incident during which a door was detached from the plane, depressurizing the cabin at more than 10,000 feet in the air.

In June 2025, a Boeing Dreamliner operated by Air India crashed, killing at least 260 people.

Nevertheless, Boeing reported on July 28 that its losses had narrowed in the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year. The company reported $611 million in losses, down from $1.44 billion in losses reported during the second quarter of the previous fiscal year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.