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This article was featured in the Summer 2025 IAM Journal and was written by IAM Communications Representative Bill Harkum.
How did a union of 33,000 aircraft workers win a battle that set a new standard in the aviation industry with a 40% pay increase over four years? What strategies
did they use to score a guarantee of building Boeing’s next commercial aircraft? What tactic did they use to defend their ground in a battle for retirement savings, not to give another inch of territory that had already been taken from them?
This was the catchphrase during the heyday of commercial aviation in North America from the 1930s through the 1970s. Boeing aircraft were dominating the skies with silver bottom planes that denoted the quality engineering and manufacturing it took to build a transportation marvel.
A job at Boeing in the Pacific Northwest was a key to the lock on a comfortable middleclass life for many families. And those jobs had been union jobs for generations,
thanks to the foresight of early Boeing workers in 1936 who organized with the IAM.
But the chase for middleclass life started racing uphill in the early 1980s. More recently, staggering inflation put even higher demands on workers’ salaries and compensation with exponential growth in the cost of living. Health insurance, housing, groceries, and energy prices grew faster than wage and benefit increases.
The ability to retire with dignity and financial stability was becoming an afterthought. The bar for the middle class was moving higher and higher, and someone
had to take a stand and choose a battlefield for a fight to begin.
Thirty three thousand IAM members from District 751 and W24 were ready.
These members had been held in limbo for two contract cycles. They weathered two extensions of previous collective bargaining agreements, riddled with threats to move their work elsewhere, while Boeing stopped pension contributions. Meanwhile, since 20 I 0, Boeing has sent $83 billion in profits to Wall Street, according to the Seattle Times. It had told its world class workforce that cuts to worker compensation were necessary.
Preparation and planning were key to readiness. Both districts focused on communication; putting the plan up front for all members to see. Face to face discussions, surveys, emails, and dropbox suggestions were used to gauge membership needs. District 751 Aero Mechanic printed road maps of the contracts back to 1952 showing the history of contract wins and path of growth. W24 held contract input and listening sessions at Mt. Hood community college. Shop stewards encouraged “swag days” when union members would wear the same union gear to mark solidarity.
“This is our future, our fight, and we are ready for it,” said IAM District 751 President and Directing Business Representative Jon Holden. “We have spent the last decade listening to members tell us what’s important to them and their families. Many changes are necessary to address the membership’s priorities. We are creating a proposal to address a comprehensive list of membership demands.”
Noted union organizer and author Marshall Ganz once said, “Movements have narratives. They tell stories because they are not just about rearranging economics and politics. They also rearrange meaning. And they’re not just about redistributing the goods. They’re about figuring out what is good.”
And what a story IAM members working for Boeing in the Pacific Northwest would have to tell.
“IAM members are the most dedicated, skilled, and experienced aerospace union in the world,” said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Robert “Bobby” Martinez. “We could not settle for anything less than the respect and family-sustaining wages and benefits that our members at Boeing need and deserve.”
It was time for a bold move.
A July 2024 rally at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, the only sports venue in the area with enough capacity to hold the IAM’s Boeing membership in the area, saw a strike sanction vote
pass by 99.9%.
Boeing workers had decided this negotiation cycle was their chance – no more extensions to an existing agreement. Boeing management had made a series of high-profile blunders over the past decade, against the advice of its own workers.
On Sept. 13, 2024, over 96% of Boeing IAM workers voted no on Boeing’s first contract offer. The path was set. Game on!
“Our membership’s ‘no’ vote was a clear mandate. Boeing had to stop undervaluing its workforce,” IAM International President Brian Bryant said after the vote. “Our strength lies in our unity, and we do not back down.”
Strike lines were set. Burn barrels were put in place. News media covered the strike from Seattle to Europe, where Boeing’s competitor, Airbus, was watching. The fight was on 24/7, and these workers were together.
And the legacy of some past members stepped up at just the right time.
IAM District 751 member Keith Olsen passed away from cancer in 2020. He left behind two children, Hawken and Bailey. Their mother, Arlene, saw her children take action no one expected. Bailey, now 16, shared, “When the strike started, my brother Hawken asked, ‘If Dad were alive, would he be out there?”‘ Bailey continued, “When I said yes, [Hawken] immediately wanted to join. He’s autistic, and the honking and crowds worried me, but he had so much fun. He kept telling everyone, ‘This is for my Dad.”‘
33,000 moms, dads, union brothers, sisters, and siblings knew what was at stake if they folded under pressure.
A rejection of a Boeing offer on Oct. 23 ratcheted up the stakes. IAM leaders met with workers and listened to their objections to Boeing’s offers. It just wasn’t good enough, was the consensus.
“Our membership spoke loudly and clearly about what they wanted in this agreement,” said IAM District 751 President and Directing Business Representative Jon Holden. “We stand strong until those needs are addressed.”
As the strike continued past its 50th day, striking workers’ determination was further tested. Each day, one day longer, one day stronger. The strike was rearranging the meaning of solidarity. As Marshall Ganz described it, the narrative was figuring out what was good.
“That means that we all needed to come together, stay informed, and take action as a group. There’s no way they’re gonna wait us out,” said District W24 President and Directing Business Representative Brandon Bryant. “We’re going to be here as long as it takes. We’ve got plenty of support for a long time.”
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal rallied with striking District 75 l members on Oct. 15. Sen. Patty Murray and Reps. Adam Smith and Rick Larsen joined a support letter from Cantwell and Jayapal that called on the two sides to “expeditiously work out a fair and durable deal that recognizes the importance of the machinist workforce to Boeing’s future.”
The continuing strike’s economic impact on the overall U.S. economy djd not go unnoticed. The Seattle Times reported that Boeing and its suppliers had lost $9.7 billion by early November.
Julie Su, then the Acting Labor Secretary, visited Seattle three times and gathered management and union leaders in late October.
“There was a real history here where the prior leadership of the company had undervalued and undermined the relationship between management and the machinists,” Su told Axios News. “And so the workers felt that.”
As day 53 of the strike ended, a deal was reached. Solidarity had won a new agreement.
“This means growth and stability for Boeing workers. Our members went on strike for better wages and working conditions and they won by staying united and exercising democracy in the workplace,” said JAM Resident General Vice President Jody Bennett. “They hit the streets, held strong, and have been rewarded with an excellent contract. This dedicated frontline workforce does not just deserve these provisions they are also overdue. This contract will set a new standard for aerospace across the region, the nation, and the industry.”
Boeing workers in South Carolina, who are just like our members; facing the same employer and performing the same work, where Boeing moved some production lines to avoid union power in the right to work for less state, saw gains in their compensation packages influenced by the District 751 and W24 fight.
“Our members fought courageously for what they deserve, and this victory proves the power of collective bargaining,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “IAM Boeing workers will help make the case to Boeing South Carolina workers on how we helped raise their wages and benefits at Boeing and the entire industry. We look forward to the conversations on the ground in Charleston about how the IAM can make their workplace stronger.”
‘This experience changed me. It wasn’t just about standing up to the company it was about standing up for each other, for every worker who deserves respect and fairness. Our strength is our solidarity, and we proved that every day on the line,” said Local 751A member Chris McQueen as she returned to work after the 53 day strike.
Members knew that standing up meant that more than just their current battle was won, it meant the door was open to change things for the future, together.
“Education is power, and by equipping our members with the right tools and information, we build a more united and informed union. Together, we are shaping a stronger future for all IAM members and the entire aerospace industry,” said 751 President Holden. “From our family members to the flying public, we want everyone to be proud of this company once again. We are the watchdog with a unique opportunity to make things better for all.”
Any movement starts with a step, and a step in the right direction tells a new story with new chapters yet to come.
It was a fight worth winning.
