Labor tensions at Boeing span decades
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Boeing's ongoing strike, the latest in a series that spans more than seven decades, underscores a long history of labor tensions at the company that have profoundly shaped Seattle's identity and reputation as a union city.
By the numbers: Since signing its first agreement with Boeing in 1936, the company's largest union — the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers — has gone on strike eight times, including the latest, which began Sept. 13.
- The longest was the 145-day walkout from April 22 to Sept. 13 in 1948.
- Other significant strikes occurred in 1965, 1977, 1989, 1995, 2005 and 2008, averaging 58 days in length.
- Boeing's second-largest union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, representing engineers and technical workers, went on strike for one day in 1993 and 40 days in 2000.
The other side: Boeing has also laid off significant numbers of people over the years to address shifts in the market and during economic downturns.
- In 2020, Boeing laid off about 30,000 workers in response to the pandemic's impact on air travel.
- The company laid off approximately 10,000 employees as part of a broader restructuring plan due to the effects of the global recession and declining aircraft orders in 2009.
- Boeing recently announced an upcoming workforce reduction of about 10%.
What's next: Because members of the machinists union would not be immediately affected by the proposed reduction, the layoffs could disproportionately affect the company's white-collar workers, the Seattle Times reported.