Tentative deal between union and Boeing could end labor board complaint

(Boeing Dreamscape)

A tentative agreement between Boeing and the Machinists union may put an end to the National Labor Relations Board's complaint against Boeing. Union members will soon vote on a contract that would extend through 2016, include "annual wage increases of 2 percent, cost-of-living adjustments, an incentive program intended to pay bonuses between 2 and 4 percent, a ratification bonus of $5,000 for each member, and improvements in the pension program," and keep production of the 737 MAX in Washington state. The potential outcome:

[Machinists Union District 751 President Tom] Wroblewski said that if union members vote to approve the deal in the coming weeks, the union would inform the NLRB that it has no further grievances with Boeing.

Lafe Solomon, acting general counsel at the labor board, called the agreement "a very significant and hopeful development."

"The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by the employees, and, if ratified, we will be in discussions with the parties about the next steps in the process," Solomon said.

Imagine that. Even as Republican politicians were carrying on an extended hissy fit about the NLRB complaint, Boeing was talking to the union.