We’ve seen Boeing’s latest message. But words don’t end a strike — bargaining does.
If Boeing truly wanted its 3,200 employees back at work, they’d come back to the table and settle this contract. Every “missed paycheck” they point to is the result of their own choice to not have meaningful negotiations.
Boeing says it wants its people back — but wanting workers back isn’t the same as valuing them. If Boeing truly valued its team, it would offer a contract that makes coming back worth it — one that respects the skill, loyalty, and sacrifice behind every jet and munition that bears the Boeing name.
The truth is simple: Boeing can’t replace what our members bring to the table. The experience, craftsmanship, and generational knowledge of this workforce can’t be replicated. The company has seen it firsthand — the same highly skilled members they’ve left on strike are the ones whose dedication just helped Boeing secure the new F-47 fighter program. That award happened because of our members’ proven excellence, not management’s press releases.
That success didn’t come from million-dollar boardrooms. It came from the hands, hearts, and minds of working people who take pride in building the aircraft that protect this nation. While Boeing’s executives continue to collect multimillion-dollar paychecks — even as production stalls — the men and women who make Boeing’s success possible are standing for fairness.
And let’s be clear about something fundamental: the IAM is a democratic union. Our members — not company executives, not even union officers — make the final decision about their future. They voted to stand together for a fair contract, and they’ll decide when Boeing brings back an offer that meets that standard.
IAM District 837 has already presented a fair, pre-ratified proposal that reflects compromise and good faith. Boeing’s refusal to negotiate — not the resolve of its workforce — is what keeps this strike going.
Messages don’t move us closer to returning to work. Bargaining does.
It’s time for Boeing to come back to the table, respect the people who make its success possible, and end this strike the right way.