Strike at Boeing ends - workers accept offer

The strike by tens of thousands of Boeing workers is over after around seven weeks. The workers accepted the aircraft manufacturer's latest offer of a 38 percent increase in income over a four-year period. The strike had begun in mid-September and threatened to deepen Boeing's crisis even further.

The Boeing proposal was accepted in the vote on Monday with a majority of 59 percent. The previous offer of a 35 percent increase over four years had been rejected by the workers a week ago.

With the new contract, the workers will also receive a one-off payment of 12,000 dollars. The union had already negotiated the receipt of bonus payments, which were originally to be abolished, in the second offer. The workers must now go back to work by November 12 at the latest.

The strike in the north-west of the USA, which began on September 13, paralyzed production of Boeing's best-selling 737 model and the 777 long-haul jet. This is likely to put Boeing even further behind schedule with deliveries.

Boeing workers had accepted several zero rounds over the past decade and now wanted a significant increase. Boeing announced a few weeks ago that it would cut ten percent of jobs. The cuts are likely to affect around 17,000 jobs.

Boeing's quality supervision in focus

Boeing has been in crisis for years following a series of breakdowns. Most recently, quality management came under even greater scrutiny after a fuselage fragment broke off a virtually new Boeing 737-9 Max operated by Alaska Airlines during a climb in January.

It was only due to fortunate circumstances that no one was seriously injured. Accident investigators came to the conclusion that four fastening elements were missing from the fuselage section of the delivered aircraft. Boeing was unable to provide any documentation on the assembly work when asked by the authorities.